Virgil van Dijk produced a real captain's moment for the Netherlands after he grabbed a 90th-minute equaliser against Germany in the Nations League.
However, the 27-year-old Liverpool centre-back created an even better moment at the end of the match.
The former Celtic and Southampton star approached and warmly embraced referee Ovidiu Hațegan, who had recently lost his mother.
"That man broke down, stood with tears in his eyes because he had just lost his mother," he said.
"I wished him strength and said that he had blown [sic] well. It's a small thing, but maybe it helps him."
What an absolute hero van Dijk is.
It's a real touch of class from the Dutch captain.
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Following on from a dismal performance at the World Cup in the summer, Germany started off strong against the Dutch when Timo Werner opened the scoring in the first ten minutes and Leroy Sané doubled their lead shortly afterward.
The Dutch rallied back late on when Quincy Promes scored before van Dijk stepped up and added a second to level the score to 2-2 at full-time.
Ronald Koeman's side have secured a spot in the Nations League semi-finals along with Portugal, Switzerland and England.
Gareth Southgate's Three Lions produced a sensational comeback against Croatia over the weekend to land their spot in the semi-finals.
"It's great that Virgil scores that late equaliser of course -- how often did Germany score in the last minute in recent years?" Koeman said (via the Daily Mirror). "Now it appears the Netherlands can do it, too.
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"Of course, with Dwight [Lodeweges] 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."
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Who will win the inaugural Nations League?
Let us know in the comments.
Featured Image Credit: Nederlandse Omroep StichtingTopics: Football News, Football, Netherlands, Virgil Van Dijk
