Virgil van Dijk felt as though he let his Netherlands team-mates down after missing the opening penalty in their World Cup shootout defeat to Argentina - but the Liverpool defender hopes a feeling of pride will soon take over.
Louis van Gaal's side were eliminated at the quarter-final stage after losing a feisty affair against Lionel Messi's Argentina. The Dutch were 2-0 down as 80 minutes passed by before Wout Weghorst's brace sent the clash into extra-time while players from both teams clashed in a huge late bust up.
Despite a dramatic late comeback in normal time, the European side failed to carry that momentum forward and as extra-time fizzled out, penalties loomed. Reds star Van dijk stepped up to take the opening spot-kick but saw a relatively tame effort parried away by Emiliano Martinez before another save from the Aston Villa stopper allowed Lautaro Martinez to settle it.
This World Cup was Van Dijk's first major tournament in the orange of the Netherlands, with the 31-year-old having missed the delayed Euro 2020 due to the ACL injury suffered during a Merseyside derby. And speaking after his side's elimination, the Liverpool man admitted he felt as though he'd let his team0mates down, but added that a feeling of pride will likely kick in soon.
"We lost on penalties and that’s the thing that’s difficult to take," Van Dijk said. "It’s like a lottery. You can practice penalties, and we did a lot, but he [Martinez] made two great saves and we’re out.
"We were confident because we had practised them. But you can’t replicate a full stadium with 80,000 people whistling at you and a different goalie, so it’s a lottery and we lost it. I was ready for it but these things happen — you can miss."
The Dutchman added: "We showed character. I’m very proud of everyone. I’m very hurt and I feel like I let my guys down. We’re going home and I’m very sad about that. Hopefully that feeling will change in the next weeks and the proud feeling will kick in."
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