Virgil Van Dijk has spoken about facing Lionel Messi ahead of Netherlands’ World Cup quarter-final clash with Argentina on Friday night.
Liverpool’s number four facing Lionel Messi has been the most prominent narrative carried out by most of the media ahead of the game, and what a narrative it could be.
Netherlands defeated USA 3-1 in the last 16, whilst Argentina just beat Australia 2-1 to reach this stage.
The Liverpool defender has had a fantastic World Cup so far, with his side conceding just two goals in four games so far although he expects the clash with Argentina to pose a whole different challenge.
Speaking to Voetbal Primeur, Van Dijk claimed: “He is one of the best players of all time. It is an honour to play against him.”
PSG’s forward has been back to a world-class level after a poor 21/22 season, scoring twelve goals and assisting fourteen for the French side already this season- as well as scoring three goals and assisting one in four games at the World Cup so far.
Despite showering the iconic forward with praise, the Holland captain remained adamant that the narrative should be focused on the match as a whole.
The 31-year-old insisted: “But it is not me against him, or the Netherlands against him, but the Netherlands against Argentina and they have many more players that are world-class.”
Van Dijk certainly makes a good point, Lionel Messi is potentially the greatest player of all time however the South American side also has the likes of Angel Di Maria, Lautauro Martinez, Paulo Dybala and Julian Alvarez just to name a few.
However, the Dutchman has a pretty good record against Messi in his career, keeping the Argentine out in Liverpool’s iconic 4-0 victory against the Spanish side in the Champions League semi-final in 2019.
But who can forget that Messi free-kick in Barca’s 3-0 win in the first leg of that tie- Legendary!
The match certainly has the potential to end up being one for the history books, with both sides fancying their chances of winning the World Cup.