Lionel Messi has previously spoken of his fondness toward Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk as the pair prepare to do battle once more in the World Cup later today.
Van Dijk has been in fine form for the Netherlands in Qatar. They topped Group A before seeing off the USA in the round-of-16 last weekend. Now their full focus is on stopping Messi's Argentina in tonight's quarter-final.
Now aged 35, Paris Saint-Germain star Messi came into the tournament in red-hot form, which he has continued in the Middle East with three goals in four games and some magnificent displays. That will come as no surprise to Van Dijk, who has previously stated that the seven-time Ballon d'Or winner is the toughest opponent he has faced.
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Messi has also praised the Netherlands captain in the past. Van Dijk got the better of the Argentinean great in the 2019 Champions League semi-finals, with Liverpool overturning a 3-0 first-leg deficit to run out 4-0 winners on one of Anfield's greatest nights. But he still finished second behind Messi in that year's Ballon d'Or standings.
And he told Marca afterwards: “He is a defender who knows how to judge his timing and wait for the right moment to challenge or jockey [the attacker]. He is very fast and big, but he has a lot of agility for his height. He is fast because of his great stride, and he is impressive both in defence and attack because he scores lots of goals.”
Ahead of this evening's big quarter-final, Van Dijk was asked about Messi. “It is an honour to play against him,” said the Reds defender on Tuesday. “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.”
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