It's a peculiar twist of football fate that Virgil van Dijk is only now, at the age of 31, experiencing his first international tournament.
That a player who has swept the board in club football during his near five years at Liverpool is only just now performing for the Netherlands at a major competition is a quirk that will surely have rankled with Van Dijk prior to kick-off in Qatar last month.
A serious knee injury suffered in October 2020 at Everton robbed him of the chance of skippering his compatriots at last summer's European championships after he took the sensible decision not to rush his comeback.
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But it will come as no surprise to those who have cheered him on from the Kop since January 2018 to find that Van Dijk has since been making up for lost time in Qatar as the Dutch skipper.
With just two goals conceded so far at the World Cup, Van Dijk has superbly marshalled an Oranje defence that has been rock solid in their four games. A 3-1 win over the United States on Saturday puts Louis van Gaal's side into the quarter-finals and they look like the sort of sturdy unit who could yet go even further.
Van Dijk's story on the road to superstardom is a slightly different one to others of his ilk. The former Celtic centre-half was already 26 by the time he joined what many would consider to be a true European giant in Liverpool. But while it took longer than he might have hoped to forge a reputation as a top-class operator on the continent, he has spent those years at Anfield since very wisely.
Since joining Liverpool for a record £75m fee from Southampton, Van Dijk has won every top-level club trophy available to him, safely establishing himself as a modern-day great in the process. They will talk about him in the same tones they do Alan Hansen, Ron Yeats and, to a more contemporary supporter, Sami Hyypia when he finally walks away from the Reds.
There's a very credible argument to suggest Van Dijk will top that particular list of esteemed centre-halves when he finally does depart too.
Van Dijk was excellent at the heart of the Dutch defence as they swept aside the Americans at the Khalifa Stadium to extend their unbeaten run to 19 games. A vital touch on a Christian Pulisic cross early on averted danger before he was on hand to mop up later in the half as Gregg Berhalter's men continued to push.
An important block denied Timothy Weah in the second period before Van Dijk ensured he was in the right place to poke out for a corner as the United States gave their all in the closing stages.
There was little Van Dijk could do about the goal the Netherlands conceded as Haji Wright converted a bizarre effort which flicked up off his heel from a low cross, but Liverpool's No.4 has generally been the foundation upon which everything has been built by Van Gaal's men in Qatar.
His leadership qualities also came to the fore as Oranje marked their all-important second from Daley Blind. As most of the team made a beeline for the corner to celebrate the goal, which came with virtually the last kick of the half, Van Dijk could be seen pulling several of his team-mates into one-to-one conversations. Marten De Roon, Davy Klaassen, Jurrien Timber and goalscorer Blind were all spoken to in an effort to refocus minds and sharpen focus before the restart.
Van Dijk was the subject of some strange criticism from the legendary Marco van Basten earlier in the tournament, with the former AC Milan striker saying after 1-1 draw with Ecuador: "I think there's a thought of 'ok, we're in front, we have to defend'. But that's something that doesn't help us. I think Virgil should play the leading role in that. He talks a lot but doesn't say anything."
That, as evidenced by his cajoling at the Khalifa Stadium has been proven wrong, Van Dijk's leadership is a key tentpole of Holland's bid for glory. Return to Merseyside as a World Cup-winning captain and he will go down as one of the all-time greats. And not just at Liverpool.
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