Virgil Van Dijk Decides To Retire From The Dutch National Team After The 2026 World Cup

Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk expressed his desire to retire from the Dutch national team after the 2026 World Cup. Van Dijk himself broke the record as the player who played the most as captain of the Netherlands.

Van Dijk et al must work hard to face stiff competition in the qualifying round before bringing the Netherlands to the finals. The Netherlands competed with Poland and their certainty of qualifying for the United States, Canada, and Mexico was determined in the last match against Lithuania.

The result was predictable, the Netherlands had no trouble finishing the team at the bottom of the standings and winning 4-0. The victory made the Netherlands seal their ticket to the finals after appearing as winners of Group G by pocketing points 20.

Meanwhile, Poland, who is ranked second, had to play a playoffs to get a share for the World Cup.

After a difficult fight in qualifying, Van Dijk, who is also the captain of the Netherlands, said he would retire from the national team.

According to him, the 2026 World Cup is the last event with the national team. At the age of 34, Van Dijk felt it was time to leave the Oranje team.

"I would like to thank everyone in this team. To the players, staff and all who played a big role behind the scenes so that everything went smoothly," said Van Dijk as quoted by The Sun.

"I am proud to be captain of Oranje and lead every game. I am very happy when I played this last tournament and wish us success together," said the Liverpool captain.

While playing the match against Lithuania, Van Dijk broke the record as the captain who played the most in the national team. He played 72 times which surpassed the Dutch legend Frank de Boer's playing record.

Pensiun dari timnas menjadi Van Dijk bisa lebih fokus di klub. Apalagi, Liverpool yang berstatus juara bertahan tengah mengalami penurunan di kompetisi domestik.

In the last match in the English Premier League before the break, Liverpool lost 3-0 against Manchester City.

These results make the Reds have lost five times when the competition only entered its 11th week. The failure to score points in five matches resulted in them being thrown into the middle board by being ranked eighth.

Liverpool, now, have the same 18 points as four other teams, including Tottenham Hotspur who are ranked fifth. Liverpool are eight points behind Arsenal who are at the top of the standings.

Van Dijk hopes Liverpool will rise back to the track when they host Nottingham Forest this weekend. Next in a midweek or midweek match, Arne Slot's side face PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League.