Cody Gakpo and Virgil van Dijk both played as the Netherlands were eliminated 3–2 by Italy in the UEFA Nations League third place play-off.

The Liverpool duo played the full 90 minutes each of Sunday’s draw in Enschede, where first-half goals from Federico Dimarco and Davide Frattesi gave the Italians two goals.

Steven Bergwijn halved the Dutch deficit midway through the second half, evading a tackle and producing a clinical finish after Gakpo’s cross was deflected onto him in the penalty area.

Federico Chiesa quickly recovered both goals and although former Reds midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum recently scored a double for the Netherlands, Italy secured bronze in the final of the tournament.

Read also…………

Virgil van Dijk replies to Roy Keane criticism in frank admission about Liverpool problem

Virgil van Dijk suffered a dip in form for Liverpool last season but felt the criticisms he received were not always deserved and suggested some comments were deliberately controversial.

Virgil Van Dijk doesn’t need critics to tell him his form hasn’t been good enough.
But after a week in which the Liverpool defender returned to his humble Dutch roots, the 31-year-old admitted the challenge is to prove he’s not an exhausted force.

Van Dijk took time off from international duty to return to his hometown of Breda for the official opening of a Johan Cruyff football ground in the residential area while he spent his formative years and next door to Olympia Catholic School where he attended as a boy.

So it was a good time for Van Dijk to look back on one of the toughest years of his career, where pundits like Marco van Basten, Roy Keane, Jamie Carragher and Gary Neville got in with both feet.

Van Dijk, who finished just seven points behind Lionel Messi in the 2019 Ballon d’Or election, revealed he felt a mental strain he had never felt before.

Van Dijk said: “I don’t feel too big to be vulnerable. It’s been quite an intense season with a lot of ups and downs and people have to understand that we’re not robots.

It’s been a year over from which I learned a lot – especially off the pitch and especially mentally.

“Things never go well in football – but this season was still a shock. Sometimes the criticism was right, both for the team and for me personally. But often that wasn’t quite true.

Either way, you have to deal with it – and I’m glad I did well. It’s not always easy mentally.”

Van Basten’s verbal attack led him to accuse Van Dijk of “making a lot of noise without saying anything”.

Keane accused Liverpool of ‘defending like a bar team’, Neville said opposing players would attack the Dutchman because ‘they felt they had a chance now’ and Carragher said ‘I would take Van Dijk’s place “.

Van Dijk added: “Criticism is one of them – and if it’s justified, that’s certainly not a problem.” But a footballer knows when he has played well or badly.

Some comments are meant to be controversial and are said only to be said. Nowadays there are so many platforms where people can express their opinions

“The problem is that as a footballer you can’t answer a lot. If you do it once, you immediately have the puppets dancing.

I am one who reads, listens or watches deliberately little. I can shut myself down. But you hear a lot from other people – and then you can’t avoid it.

When the battle was at its toughest as Jurgen Klopp’s men struggled to maintain the standards that have brought them so close to a historic quadruple in 2022, the Dutchman turned to his family, friends and coaching staff of Anfield.

Van Dijk said: “I always talk to people close to me. This is really important. No one is too old to talk or to make themselves vulnerable.

At home I talk to my wife a lot and at the club we have loads of people to talk to who specialize in that.

No player has a career full of highlights. “But if the criticism is strong and negative, you can suffer as an athlete. The trick is to deal with it properly – and I’m very happy with how it’s been over the past few months.”

Liverpool’s return at the end of the season saw them qualify for the Europa League, while the Netherlands’ hopes of winning the Nations League were dashed by Friday night’s 4-2 loss to Croatia.

Van Dijk said: “I have two years left on my contract and I guess they (Liverpool) still think I’m important to the team. Otherwise I would have definitely heard about it.

Contact with the manager is good and I’m very positive about it again. The way we finished the season motivates me to enter the pre-season with the arrival of new players.