Liverpool players have been having a mixed time at Euro 2024 so far this summer.
The Reds have 10 first-team players turning out for their countries over in Germany. And it hasn’t gone well for all of them.
After losing to Dominik Szoboszlai and Hungary on Sunday, Andy Robertson has already headed home. Scotland once again failed to get out of the group.
Another two who have found the going a little tricky have been Netherlands pair Virgil van Dijk and Cody Gakpo.
Gakpo himself has been good, and got his second goal of the tournament on Tuesday. But with the Dutch falling to a surprise 3-2 defeat to Austria, both he and Van Dijk felt some harsh words from the nation’s media.
Netherlands media react to surprise defeat
While it was a surprise to see the Netherlands go down 3-2 to Austria, perhaps it shouldn’t have been.
Although they’d picked up four points from their first two games, the Dutch have been far from convincing. Austria meanwhile look like a well oiled machine under Ralf Rangnick.
The result meant that Rangnick’s side sensationally topped a group containing both the Netherlands and France. No mean feat.
For the Liverpool pair and their teammates, they’ll still go through as the best placed team in third place. But knowing Van Dijk in particular and the standards he sets as captain, he will not be happy with that.
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Predictably, and probably justifiably, neither were the Dutch media. Only one player scored higher than a seven out of 10 in AD’s match ratings.
Gakpo came quite close to that top score, bagging a six point five out of 10 after getting his goal in the second-half. However, Liverpool’s No.18 is said to have ‘let Schmid head in very easily’ to put Austria back in-front.
Van Dijk was also seemingly part of the problem for the Netherlands. The Reds skipper is handed a five point five rating having found himself in a ‘difficult puzzle’ of whether to cover or not cover.
Virgil reportedly improved after the break but couldn’t stop Austria from scoring twice. The 32-year-old is said to have been ‘saddened’ by his team’s failure to get any kind of grip on the Austrian’s in the first-half especially.
What next for Liverpool’s international players?
In the end it was perhaps a relief just for Van Dijk, Gakpo – and indeed Ryan Gravenberch, who is yet to play a minute – to get through.
They could end up playing England in the round of 16. That would see Trent Alexander-Arnold and Joe Gomez come up against their trio of Reds teammates.
Given how poor the Three Lions have been up to this point though, Van Dijk and co might fancy themselves to bounce back in that.
As for Liverpool’s other representatives, two could be in action on Wednesday as Diogo Jota’s Portugal and Vitezslav Jaros‘ Czech Republic conclude their group campaigns. Portugal are already through while only a win will get the Czechs beyond the groups.
In terms of the Copa America, Darwin Nunez plays again on Friday morning, Luis Diaz on Friday night and Alisson Becker in the early hours of Saturday morning.