Virgil van Dijk's Netherlands kick-off their 2022 World Cup campaign this afternoon when they take on Senegal at the Al-Thumama Stadium.
The Liverpool defender will take part in his first ever major tournament aged 31, after missing the European Championships with an ACL injury, and captains a Dutch side who are favourites to progress from Group A. Fellow group stage rivals Ecuador opened up the tournament with a comfortable 2-0 win over hosts Qatar yesterday.
Today's meeting with Senegal us arguably the toughest fixture on paper, but the absence of Sadio Mane through injury has come as a huge blow to Aliou Cisse's side, and van Dijk himself admitted last week that he felt sorry for his former Reds teammate.
