Rafael van der Vaart hit out at fellow Dutchman Virgil van Dijk after the Netherlands slipped to a shock 3-2 defeat by Austria to finish third in Group D at Euro 2024.
The Netherlands had already secured their place in the last-16 heading into Wednesday’s match, but delivered a lacklustre display as they fell behind three times.
The deciding goal saw Van Dijk caught several yards behind his team’s defensive line, with former Manchester United midfielder Marcel Sabitzer racing through to seal the win for Austria.
Van Der Vaart was highly critical of the Netherlands’ ‘disgraceful performance’ and believes it mirrored Van Dijk’s attitude on the pitch.
‘We played the way Virgil van Dijk just talked!’ Van Der Vaart said after the final whistle while working for Dutch TV channel NOS.
Rafael van der Vaart was highly critical of Virgil van Dijk after the Netherlands lost to Austria
Van Dijk was at fault for the winning goal and Van Der Vaart slammed him for not showing ‘passion’, while fans hit out at his ‘lazy’ defending
‘We just had to watch a disgraceful performance! I want the captain from our country to show some PASSION!’
The Netherlands twice got back into the game through goals from Cody Gakpo and Memphis Depay, but had no response after Sabitzer’s strike.
And it did not escape the notice of fans that Van Dijk’s positioning was extremely questionable for the decisive goal, as he played Sabitzer well onside.
‘VVD is so lazy,’ one fan claimed on X.
Another agreed, adding: ‘That is so so poor’, while one X user stated: ‘He is mad fully, played everyone onside.’
Van Dijk is widely considered to be one of the best defenders in the world after several successful seasons at Liverpool, but one fan is not convinced by his standing in the game.
‘One of the most overrated and over hyped defenders of all time,’ they declared.
It was also pointed out that the response to Van Dijk’s mistake would not have been so kind if Harry Maguire had been similarly caught out.
‘If this was Harry Maguire etc etc etc,’ one fan said.
Van Dijk and Co must now wait to learn their last-16 opponents, although they are set to be on the opposite side of the draw to France, Germany, Spain and Portugal.
