Virgil van Dijk has sent a classy message to Liverpool team-mate Andy Robertson after Scotland were thrashed by Germany.
The Tartan Army suffered an embarrassing 5-1 defeat to the host nation in the opening match of Euro 2024, with the loss dealing a big blow to their hopes of reaching the knockout stages of a major tournament for the first time in their history.
Robertson, who revealed he had been carrying an ankle injury since March ahead of the game, is the Scotland captain and fronted up to the media after the hefty loss. However, his comments saw him lambasted by Manchester United legend Roy Keane.
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“Andy Robertson said about a game plan,” the Irishman said on ITV. “It’s well and good having a plan, and they weren’t aggressive enough, you have to be aggressive in a game of football.
“When you’re against opposition who are so much stronger than you, being aggressive is part of it. I love watching skilful players and the talent of the German player – it was great to watch but my goodness, you’ve got to hit people [smacks hands]. Do it in the right way.
“It’s no good talking after the game, ‘We had a game plan’ it’s rubbish, Andy Robertson is just rubbish coming out.
“You knew before the game what was at stake, you’ll be angry tomorrow, no you should be angry all the time.
“They’re talking about creating history, they’re creating history alright by playing as bad as that, letting their manager and supporters down. Football’s a physical game, they didn’t lay a glove on them.”
However, Van Dijk has sent a sympathetic message to his Liverpool team-mate ahead of captaining the Netherlands in their opening match against Poland on Sunday.
“Germany made a very good impression,” he said. “We played against them in the last international break. Certain players can make the difference, yesterday [Friday] that was the case.
“The red card didn’t help Scotland but Germany are in a very good place at the moment and they’re playing at a high standard.
“I think Robbo will be fine, he’s the captain there. It’s never easy to deal with situations like that but I’m very confident that he will be fine and lead the Scottish nation to better days.”