Virgil van Dijk sparked a controversy when he claimed that the Netherlands’ game plan worked against Morocco, despite losing the World Cup on penalties. They were tied for a 1-1 draw with Morocco, but Issa Diop canceled out Kodi Gakpo’s second-half opener in the 91st minute, forcing extra time. Ronald Koeman’s side then wasted three penalties in the shootout and were eliminated in the round of 32.
Their premature departure has emerged as one of the big talking points of this summer’s World Cup, with the Netherlands widely expected to make further progress in the tournament. Van Dijk’s post-match comments have received considerable attention from fans online after the Liverpool manager spoke favorably of the Dutch side’s tactical approach.
“It’s very difficult to analyze it now,” he said. “It was a hard-fought game. I thought we were well organized defensively.
“They basically couldn’t find the open man between the lines. So of course the game plan worked. I think we scored some good goals.”
“In the end we got pushed back in stoppage time and then it went to a penalty shootout and unfortunately we got knocked out.
“If you look at almost all the big teams in the World Cup, they too just sit back and wait for the right moment to put pressure on them.
“We trained hard for two days for this, and some things went well. Of course, there are always things we can improve on, but in any case it doesn’t help us right now.”
Van Dijk and his teammates happily conceded the majority of possession to Morocco, with an xG of just 0.24, while their opponents had an xG of 1.4 and nearly twice as many shots on goal.
His remarks immediately sparked a furious reaction on social media, with one user hitting back: “Yes Virgil, the game plan is a huge success! A huge success!”
“After parking the bus for 90 minutes, we managed to get a draw. After leading 1-0, we conceded after missing three pens. It was a good process!”
Another questioned: “We had 21 percent possession in the second half. Was that the game plan?”
A third was more blunt: “Say what you want, but I can’t say the game plan worked.”
Morocco is scheduled to play Canada in Houston on Saturday with a spot in the quarterfinals at stake.
