Virgil van Dijk stated that he would think about his futures with Liverpool and the Netherlands after the Netherlands’ heartbreaking 2-1 loss to England in the Euro 2024 semifinals.
Ollie Watkins’ incredible last-ditch attempt for England in Dortmund ended the 33-year-old’s dreams of playing in his first major international final.
Van Dijk, who has received 75 caps for his nation, is also approaching the last year of his Liverpool contract. With Jurgen Klopp leaving the team, the team is expected to undergo a significant change.
After Wednesday’s loss, the defender also refused to make any significant promises to either his present team or his nation.
‘I haven’t the slightest idea right now,’ Van Dijk said when asked by reporters about his future.
‘I will think carefully this summer about what I want at club level and as an international player. Then we’ll go for it again, but first recover from this.
‘After a season like this, where all kinds of things have happened, it gets emotional at the end because you know it’s over.
On the semi-final more generally, he said: ‘Especially in the second half I had the feeling the outcome would fall our way.
‘But [Ollie] Watkins was perhaps given a little too much space and he finished well.’
‘It hurts a lot that we conceded this goal so late in the match and are now empty-handed. You put everything into it, everyone gives everything and if the goal comes like that in the last minute, that just sucks. Yes … sorry.’
Van Dijk did, however, express huge frustrations at the performance of referee Felix Zwayer after the controversial penalty awarded to England in the first half.
‘I don’t know what to say, I don’t know if I should say something about this,’ he told beIN Sports.
‘But I think it says it all that the referee went in quite quickly after the game, had no time to shake his hand.’