Virgil van Dijk’s colossus stat as Liverpool trio book semi-final vs. England

Virgil van Dijk was a force in the air once again for the Netherlands, while Cody Gakpo proved crucial to their progress to the semi-finals, where they will meet England.

The Netherlands joined Spain, France and England in the last four of the Euros on Saturday with a comeback 2-1 win over Turkiye.

Ryan Gravenberch remained on the bench for the entirety of the clash, as he has done so throughout the tournament, as Van Dijk and Gakpo played the full 90 minutes.

Ronald Koeman’s side were treated to quite the test in the quarter-final, with Turkiye full of energy and probing questions that led to their deserved 35th-minute breakthrough.

Van Dijk was busy at the back across the evening with 88 touches, seven headed clearances, and three recoveries, and he also sent eight balls into the final third.

Virgil van Dijk won more duels (7) and more aerial duels (6) than any other player against Türkiye.

No player has won more aerial duels at #EURO2024 than the Liverpool man (18). ? pic.twitter.com/h5plwwbzsR

— Play Squawka Selector for Free (@Squawka_Live) July 6, 2024

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In the end, no player won more duels (seven) or aerial duels (six) than the Liverpool captain on the night.

Moreover, his dominance in the air was underlined by the fact that no player has won more than his 18 aerial duels across the entire tournament to date – some things never change.

At the other end of the pitch, Gakpo was instrumental in completing the comeback after Stefan de Vrij equalised in the second half, with his desperation enough to bundle the ball into the back of the net.

Continuing on the left wing, Turkiye were mindful of pushing Gakpo to the sideline rather than allowing him to cut inside as he has done so with aplomb.

But in the 76th minute, the tournament’s joint-leading goalscorer appeared to have scored his fourth after he hurled himself at the ball, but it was later adjudged to be an own goal from Mert Muldur.

Comeback complete, and the Netherlands held on to seal a date with England after Trent Alexander-Arnold‘s penalty sent Gareth Southgate’s men to the semi-final on Wednesday.

In total, the Reds have six representatives in the Euro semi-finals and three in the same stage at Copa America – and they are guaranteed a finalist in both tournaments!

Plenty to keep an eye on over the coming week, Reds!