Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk has kicked off his World Cup campaign for the Netherlands in a game against Senegal. This was a particularly big game for van Dijk as it was his first major tournament representing Holland.
The central defender was in the middle of the One Love armband controversy right before the game. He wanted to wear the armband to show his support for the cause but was then asked to refrain as FIFA decided to sanction teams that saw their captains wear the One Love armband.
Before the game, Van Djik mentioned, “I will wear the one love armband tomorrow. Nothing changed from our point of view. If I will get a yellow card for wearing it then we would have to discuss it because I don’t like to play while being on a yellow.” Unfortunately, he and a lot of other captains were forced to refrain.
However, he was able to put the controversy to one side and started off his campaign in style. He was at his colossal best and was one of the most important players in their 2-0 win. These three points are crucial three points for the Netherlands and will set them up well for going into the next round as Senegal was tipped to be their biggest opponent in the group stage.
Van Dijk will have to ensure that he plays at his best as he will be an all-important player for the Netherlands if they are to progress to the latter stages of the FIFA World Cup in Qatar.