Virgil van Dijk was penalized four minutes into the Netherlands’ Euro 2024 qualifier against the Republic of Ireland.
The 32-year-old Liverpool captain, who had his Premier League ban for a sending-off against Newcastle United last month extended on Friday, was earning his 60th cap for Holland but had an evening to forget at Dublin’s Aviva Stadium after referee Irfan Peljito deemed Van Dijk to have handled an early corner. When given the chance to put his team ahead early on, forward Adam Idah made no mistake, sliding past Mark Flekken.
Van Dijk was eventually rescued by Liverpool teammate Cody Gakpo, who inspired the Oranjes to victory by restoring parity with a penalty only 15 minutes later. The Liverpool attacker, like Idah earlier in the first half, hammered his shot into the right-hand corner and past a helpless Gavin Bazunu.
After weathering a late first-half storm from Stephen Kelly’s side, Holland took the lead on 56 minutes when on-loan Burnley forward Wout Weghorst cushioned Denzel Dumfries’ cross into the area before converting.
The 2-1 win in Dublin moved Van Dijk and Gakpo one step closer to sealing a place at next summer’s European Championships in Germany, with Holland currently second in Group B with four qualifying games remaining.
In other news, Dominik Szoboszlai enjoyed an excellent 90-minute appearance for Hungary in their 1-1 friendly match with the Czech Republic. The 22-year-old, who captains his national team, made his debut for Marco Rossi’s side in an unfamiliar advanced, left-sided role.
Despite the fact that there was no stake in Sunday’s match at the Puskas Arena in Budapest, the Liverpool midfielder stood out with an excellent performance that saw him conclude the evening with a 91% pass completion percentage. Szoboszlai even fired an 80-yard diagonal throw to teammate Loic Nego in one social media footage.
Hungary’s performance in Budapest followed their crucial Euro 2024 qualification victory over Serbia on Thursday, which took them to the top of Group G at the halfway point of qualifying.
Meanwhile, Kostas Tsimikas did not play in Greece’s 5-0 win over Gibraltar.
