Netherlands fans are not sorry Virgil van Dijk is missing Friday evening's Nations League match against Greece. Their side led 5-0 at half-time.
Against the Greeks on Friday, the Netherlands flew out of the blocks. Crysensio Summerville opened the scoring after just six minutes following a fine move by Donyell Malen.
Tijjani Reijnders then stole the show. The Al-Qadsiah midfielder scored three times in 20 minutes to put the Netherlands 4-0 up.
Just before half-time, Jurriën Timber turned in a low cross from Malen with ease to make it 5-0.
Van Dijk is absent on Friday evening despite travelling to Zeist earlier this week. Tests showed he was not fit enough to play during this international period after all.
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On social media, viewers watching the match have shown little regret at his absence. "The Netherlands play much better without Virgil van Dijk," concludes Ger van der Veen.
"As expected, we need Virgil van Dijk like a hole in the head. What a relief to have Frenkie building from the back," says another viewer on X.
"So it turns out Virgil van Dijk was the problem all along?" remarks Huub Bellemakers. "It's good to see how liberating Virgil van Dijk's absence is for this Netherlands side," says Rob Goosens.
With Van Dijk absent, Frenkie de Jong wears the captain's armband on Friday evening. After half-time, Denzel Dumfries took it over from him.