Netherlands defender Virgil van Dijk has issued a fresh warning to the Dutch side ahead of the European giants’ mouth-watering clash with two-time champions Argentina at the grandest stage of them all – the FIFA World Cup. Lionel Messi-led Argentina will meet Van Dijk’s Netherlands in the quarter-finals of the Qatar World Cup at the Lusail Stadium. Messi guided Argentina to an impressive win over Australia while Van Dijk’s Netherlands outclassed the United States of America (USA) to enter the quarter-finals of the Qatar World Cup.
With Messi regaining top form in the lead-up to Argentina’s quarter-final clash with the Netherlands, Liverpool defender Van Dijk feels the Dutch side will have to come up with a foolproof plan to stop Messi from inspiring La Albiceleste in the knockout stage of the showpiece event. The Argentina captain is one of the leading goal scorers in the 2022 edition of the FIFA World Cup. Messi was on target for Argentina in its thrilling Round of 16 win over Australia.
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“The difficult thing about him is when we are attacking, he is chilling somewhere in a corner or something. You have to be so very sharp in terms of defensive organisation. They always looked for him to try to make it difficult for us on the counter. It is not me against him, or the Netherlands against him, but the Netherlands against Argentina. No one can do it on his own, we will have to come up with a good plan,” Van Dijk told Goal.com ahead of the blockbuster clash between Netherlands and Argentina at the Qatar World Cup.
Runners-up in the 2010 edition of the FIFA World Cup, the Netherlands are yet to register a win over Messi-led Argentina since 2003. Argentina registered a famous win over the Netherlands when the last time both teams met in the FIFA World Cup. Messi-led Argentina edged past the Netherlands on penalties to enter the summit clash of the FIFA World Cup in 2014.
