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Liverpool's Virgil van Dijk was brutally honest after the Netherlands suffered a 3-2 defeat against Italy in the UEFA Nations League semifinals on Sunday in the third-place playoff.
Federico Di Marco, Davide Frattesi and Federico Chiesa were on the scoresheet for the reigning European champions, while Steven Bergwijn and Georgino Wijnaldum scored for the Oranje.
Ronald Koeman's team have now endured consecutive defeats, as they were beaten 4-2 by Croatia in the semifinals. Van Dijk reacted said after the Italy defeat:
"It's just not good enough. The first half was bad. This can't happen. You play for your honour today. I feel ashamed."
The Liverpool superstar's role in Chiesa's goal for the Azzuri was criticised by former Tottenham and Real Madrid player Rafael van der Vaart:
"Virgil van Dijk is being criticised and rightly so. For 20 minutes, I thought: he is back, but that moment with Chiesa.. he is basically doing nothing."
What Virgil van Dijk has said about his Liverpool future?
It's fair to say that Virgil van Dijk has fallen from grace in the last year. The central defender hasn't been in his best form. He made 41 appearances for the team last term, helping keep 14 clean sheets.
Van Dijk, though, remains an important part of Jurgen Klopp's team. When fit, he's an undisputed starter. Van Dijk was recently asked about his future at Liverpool. The Dutchman said (via 90min):
"I still have two years left on my contract, and I assume that they still consider me important for the team. If not, I am sure I would have heard about it.
"My contact with the manager is good, and I feel very positive about things again. The way we finished the season motivates me to go into pre-season with the new players who are coming in."
Since his arrival from Southampton in 2018 winter, Van Dijk has been immense for the Merseysiders. Fans can expect the player to remain a key part of the team for a while.
