Virgil Van Dijk Handed Netherlands’ Tactics Sheet, Shows Him Moving To Striker Before Scoring Late Equaliser

Virgil van Dijk was the man of the hour for the Netherlands after he scored a 90th-minute equaliser against Germany in the Nations League.

However, it would seem that the 27-year-old Dutch captain was intentionally in the right place at the right time.

The Liverpool centre-back was handed a tactics sheet as the Netherlands chased for an equaliser.

The paper in question shows a modified 3-4-1-2 formation -- almost playing a 3-2-3-2 setup -- with a three-man backline of Daley Blind, Frenkie de Jong and Matthijs de Ligt.

Yes, that means that van Dijk wasn't playing in his usual defensive position and had been partnered up front with PSV Eindhoven's Luuk de Jong instead.

And what a change it proved to be, eh?

After the match, Netherlands manager Ronald Koeman revealed that he did not know what was written on the sheet of paper.

"I received the letter from [assistant coach] Dwight Lodeweges," he said (via the Daily Mail). "But I did not know what was written on it.

"It's great that Virgil scores that late equaliser of course -- how often did Germany score in the last minute in recent years? Now it appears the Netherlands can do it, too.

"Of course, with Dwight and Kees van Wonderen we went through different scenarios prior to the game, and also that we had to force something in the final phase.

"But when it came up at 2-0 I said no, we are not going to do that now. Then it becomes 4-0 or 5-0. But I wanted to do it at 2-1."

Van Dijk also stole the show after the match when he warmly embraced referee Ovidiu Hațegan, whose mother had passed away.

The Dutch defender's late winner is somewhat similar to Diego Godín's injury-time header for Atlético Madrid earlier this month, mainly for how manager Diego Simeone played the 32-year-old Uruguayan centre-back as a forward.

The Dutch have secured a spot in the Nations League semi-finals along with Portugal, Switzerland and England.

Can van Dijk inspire the Netherlands to the final of the Nations League?

Let us know in the comments.

Featured Image Credit: Nederlandse Omroep Stichting/Veronica Inside

Topics: Football News, Football, Netherlands, Virgil Van Dijk

Adnan Riaz

Adnan Riaz is a journalist for SPORTbible. He studied for a B.A. in History at the University of York and followed it up with an M.A. in Multimedia Journalism at MMU. Before he started writing about sports, he spent over four years in the gaming press. He has worked for several publications, including Hardcore Gamer, LADbible and the Manchester Evening News. Follow him on Twitter to find out what he is working on next. Got a story tip for Adnan? Email him: [email protected]

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