Virgil van Dijk was informed his Liverpool teammate Mohamed Salah failed to qualify for the World Cup finals this year during a post-match interview.
Salah suffered heartbreak on Tuesday evening as Senegal edged them into a World Cup slot after a penalty shootout following a closely fought playoff match.
Despite Egypt defeating their West African opponents 1-0 in last week’s first leg in Cairo, they suffered a reverse in Dakar and lost the shootout – with the Reds superstar missing his spot kick.
It was the second time this calendar year that Salah and Egypt have suffered penalty shootout heartache, having also been edged out in the African Cup of Nations final – ironically, by the same opponents.
That time, Salah did not take a penalty as he was scheduled to take his nation’s fifth but by that stage – Carlos Quieroz’s side were already defeated.
Ironically, it was Salah’s Reds teammate Sadio Mane who played a pivotal role in Senegal’s double success. It was Mane who rammed in the deciding penalty to send Salah trudging off the pitch on Tuesday night following the gruelling double-legged affair.
Van Dijk only found out about Salah’s defeat in the aftermath of the Netherlands friendly match against Germany on Tuesday night – which was taking place simultaneously. The former Southampton defender played the full 90 minutes of his side’s 1-1 draw.
Thomas Mueller had given Hansi Flick’s side the lead just before the break before substitute Steven Bergwijn levelled the game in the second half. Both of the European heavyweights had already booked their places in this year’s World Cup finals in Qatar, having topped their respective qualification groups.
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In his post-match interview, van Dijk was asked about what he thought of Salah not making the finals which, understandably, prompted the defender to ask: “Did he lose?” He was then informed that the Reds forward had indeed not been able to steer his nation to the finals.
“Well obviously, I feel sorry for Mo and for Egypt, but football is sometimes like this,” van Dijk responded.
“I am sure he will turn the disappointment into success for the rest of the season. We still have everything to play for so there is a lot of things still to achieve for him. As for Sadio, I wish him all the best and if he is in our group, he is going to need that good luck!”
While Salah and Egypt missed out on a spot, his Reds teammate will be at the World Cup for a second successive tournament with Senegal. The other four African nations who booked their spot in the finals on Tuesday were Morocco, Tunisia, Ghana and Cameroon – the latter of whom dramatically beat Algeria on away goals with a strike in the fourth minute of added time in injury time.
