Three Liverpool players featured in Sunday’s internationals, with Virgil van Dijk scoring the Netherlands’ Nations League winning goal against Belgium.
Van Dijk’s header in the 73rd minute was the only goal of the match as Louis van Gaal’s side eliminated a Belgian side that included the likes of Thibaut Courtois, Kevin De Bruyne and Eden Hazard.
The win means the Netherlands have won their Nations League group, finishing six points ahead of second-place Belgium, and will be one of four teams to advance to the knockout phase of the tournament in 2023.
Captain Van Dijk played the full 90 minutes, just as he did in the Oranje’s win over Poland earlier in the week, alongside Man City’s Nathan Ake and Ajax’s Jurrien Timber in central defence.
The goal came midway through the second half, when no. 4 headed in a corner from Cody Gakpo that went past Real Madrid goalkeeper Courtois.
?? @LFC defender Virgil van Dijk finishes off the header as the Netherlands win 1-0 against Belgium! #NEDBEL pic.twitter.com/iBdX4V0TOs
— Premier Sports (@PremierSportsTV) September 25, 2022
Van Dijk has an impressive goalscoring record with the Netherlands, having scored six goals in 49 appearances for his country.
It looks like he will play his 50th game against Senegal in his first World Cup match, where he will likely face his former Liverpool teammate Sadio Mane.
There were also two young Reds in international action on Sunday, with U-18 forward Keyrol Figueroa scoring in his first start for the US U-17s.
The son of Maynor, the former Wigan and Hull winger who, at 39, still captains Honduras, Figueroa has chosen to represent the United States in the youth category.
pic.twitter.com/kfegExuJWR
— Lewis Bower (@LewisBower2021) September 25, 2022
The striker, who turned 16 at the end of August, made his debut as a starter for the U17 side in a 4-1 win over the Czech Republic and got on the scoresheet after 42 minutes.
There was also another Scotland under-21 appearance for 16-year-old Ben Doak, who scored on his debut against Northern Ireland on Thursday.
The interesting young winger, who has flourished in Liverpool’s under-18 side since his summer arrival from Celtic, came on as a 62nd-minute substitute when his side faced the same opposition.
He wasn’t on the scoresheet this time, but he turned heads again and came close to setting up the winning goal in the end.
Three more Reds could be in action for their nations on Monday, with Jordan Henderson set to return from injury in England’s Nations League encounter with Germany. Trent Alexander-Arnold, however, has been left out of Gareth Southgate’s 23-man squad for the match.
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