Virgil van Dijk carved his name a bit deeper into Dutch football history on Monday night. The Liverpool skipper has now captained the Netherlands more than any other player in the country’s long football history, leading the Oranje out for the 72nd time as they eased to a confident 4-0 win over Lithuania to seal their ticket for next summer’s World Cup finals.
The Liverpool captain, who took responsibility for their 3-0 loss to Man City as reported by Softfootball, has been a solid leader for both club and country. Liverpool also celebrated Van Dijk’s milestone on their official X handle.
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De Boer, who previously held the record, marked the occasion with a genuinely warm tribute, acknowledging how significant the milestone was. He praised Van Dijk’s consistency as captain, noting that wearing the armband 72 times is something any player would be proud of.
He also described him as a real leader for the national team and expressed hope that Van Dijk would enjoy many more memorable moments as skipper in the years ahead.
Van Dijk’s presence has become something like a steady background beat for the Netherlands, guiding the youngsters, steadying the older ones, and keeping the whole team together. Monday’s match also pushed him to his 88th international cap, which is a number that sort of creeps up on you before you realise how long he’s been around.
There were spells in the game where the Netherlands looked almost too relaxed, maybe even a little casual, but Van Dijk’s leadership didn’t really drift. Even when he didn’t have much to defend, he was pointing things out, shifting players a step here or there, doing the small invisible stuff that managers love but fans barely notice.
