Lionel Messi has previously spoken of his admiration for Virgil van Dijk ahead of Argentina’s World Cup quarter-final clash against the Netherlands.
Messi scored the opener in his side's Round of 16 victory over Australia to continue his fine form at the World Cup – where he has now scored three goals in four appearances – as he spearheaded his nation through to the last eight, where they will face Louis van Gaal's side.
In the group stages, the 35-year-old attacker found the net in Argentina's shock opening-match loss against Saudi Arabia and also netted in a vital victory for Lionel Scaloni's side against Mexico, and while he did not find the net against Poland, he played an important role in his side's two-goal win.
Yet their last eight opponents will prove to be, by a distance, Argentina’s toughest test to date at the World Cup. They are facing a Netherlands side who are unbeaten throughout the tournament and made relatively light work of the US in the Round of 16, winning 3-1.
There are no shortage of storylines ahead of the game with Van Gaal’s final game in management likely to coincide with the Netherlands ending their campaign, while Messi is playing in what is almost certainly his final World Cup tournament.
Messi and his international teammates will have to break down a Dutch defence that has conceded just two goals across their four World Cup matches to date and have shown their ability to win matches with tactical tweaks and setting up to nullify the threat of their opposition.
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Van Dijk is central to that as he is often selected as the holding defender in a three-man backline which includes Ajax’s Jurrien Timber and Nathan Ake of Manchester City, with the Liverpool defender enjoying a resurgence in form this tournament.
Speaking to Marca back in 2019, Messi said of Van Dijk: “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.”
Messi was speaking in the year that he pipped Van Dijk to the Ballon d’Or title and while the Liverpool defender may no longer be hitting those heights in his recent form after recovering from a long-term injury, the Argentine attack will be all too aware of the challenge that awaits them in the last eight.
