Four minutes into the Netherlands’ Euro 2024 qualifying match against the Republic of Ireland, Virgil van Dijk was given a penalty.
The 32-year-old Liverpool captain was earning his historic 60th cap for Holland at Dublin’s Aviva Stadium when referee Irfan Peljito adjudged Van Dijk to have handled an early corner, prolonging his Premier League suspension for a sending-off against Newcastle United last month. When given the chance to put his team ahead so quickly, forward Adam Idah nailed it by slipping the ball past Mark Flekken.
Van Dijk was ultimately saved by Cody Gakpo, a Liverpool teammate who gave the Oranje the victory by tying the score with a penalty just 15 minutes later. The Liverpool attacker blasted his effort into the right corner and beyond a hapless Gavin Bazunu, just like Idah had earlier in the first half.
When on-loan Burnley forward Wout Weghorst cushioned Denzel Dumfries’ cross into the box and added the finishing touch on 56 minutes, Holland took the lead after Stephen Kelly’s team forced them to weather a late first-half storm.
The 2-1 victory in Dublin moved Holland into second place in Group B with four qualifying matches left, putting Van Dijk and Gakpo one step closer to clinching their spots at the European Championships in Germany next summer.
Dominik Szoboszlai enjoyed a fun outing for Hungary in their 1-1 friendly match with the Czech Republic, playing the entire 90 minutes. For Marco Rossi’s team, the 22-year-old skipper started in an unusual advanced, left-sided position.
Even though there was no stake in the match on Sunday at Budapest’s Puskas Arena, the Liverpool midfielder attracted attention with a standout performance. He ended the night with a 91% pass completion rate. Szoboszlai even made an 80-yard diagonal pass to teammate Loic Nego in one social media footage.
Hungary’s match in Budapest saw them build on their crucial win against Serbia on Thursday in Euro 2024 qualification, which sent them to the top of Group G at the halfway point of qualifying.
