In line with the statements made on Tuesday by his coach Louis van Gaal, the Dutch defender Virgil van Dijk was confident this Wednesday in the run-up to the quarterfinals by assuring that “he is not worried about Argentina’s attack” at the same time which analyzed Messi and Julián Álvarez, the team’s scorers in this Cup.
“I’m not worried about Argentina’s attack. We are prepared to play the game and do everything possible to advance to the semifinals. We know of the danger that Argentina can generate because it is a fantastic team with great players, but we are going to be very attentive in all our lines. We are ready to face this game”, assured the central marker of Liverpool, who plays as a libero in the line of three that the Netherlands has been using in Qatar.
The Dutch captain, considered one of the best defenders in the world, also recognized Messi’s hierarchy and praised Julián Álvarez from Cordoba, who scored five of the seven goals for the National Team.
“Messi is one of the best players of our time along with Cristiano Ronaldo. I have a lot of respect for his achievements and it always means an honor to play against him,” admitted the 1.93-meter, 31-year-old giant, trained at the Willem II club. of his country before going through Groningen, Scottish Celtic and English Southampton.
As for Julián Álvarez, with whom he shares the league in England, he highlighted: “He reached the Premier and is doing very well at City this season, despite having to compete with a footballer like (Erling) Haaland. He is a very good player, I think he will be important for his club and the Argentine National Team”.
On the other hand, van Dijk differentiated Friday’s game from the historical precedents that both teams record in the World Cup, unlike van Gaal who considered this match as a “rematch” for what happened in Brazil 2014, when Argentina lost imposed on penalties and agreed to the final.
“I don’t think it has a special meaning, if it is special it will be because it is a quarterfinal match,” said the man who is playing in the first World Cup of his career.
“There is no extra feeling for the story. We just concentrated on being able to show our quality and unity to try to progress in the competition,” he added.
The word of the goalkeeper Noppert
For his part, goalkeeper Andreas Noppert praised Messi’s quality but clarified that “he can also fail” as he demonstrated in this World Cup. “He is a great player but he also tends to fail. We have seen him in this tournament. He is like us, a human being,” said the Heerenveen footballer.
Noppert, 28 years old and an astonishing 2.03 meters tall, got into the World Cup through the window and earned the starting job without ever having played a game for the Dutch national team.
“When you are little you dream of being in a World Cup. I have always kept that dream, I fought for it. Only Louis (van Gaal) could have thought of me for the World Cup. I am proud and grateful to be here,” said he, who played in Italy’s Serie B four years ago and between 2019 and 2021 went through the Second Division of his country.
Noppert then highlighted van Gaal’s role: “A good coach is someone who also keeps footballers who aren’t playing and who are still fighting to get into the team well. That’s the most important thing.”
Finally, he assured that he does not feel pressure to play a place in the semifinals of the World Cup in his short experience as a goalkeeper for his team: “It is true that this is new for me but it is a new test. I just have to be myself. It’s a different world for me but that’s not going to change me.”
