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Atlas lions break windmills
Netherlands captain Virgil van Dijk has expressed his deep sadness at his country’s exit from the 2026 World Cup after losing to Morocco in the round of 32, stressing that elimination is one of the hardest moments any footballer can experience.
Speaking to Dutch broadcaster NOS after the match, Van Dijk appeared to be affected by the defeat, which ended Mills’ campaign at the tournament despite leading the Netherlands at the start of the match, before the Moroccan side managed to come back and seal qualification.
Holland’s captain said: “These are the worst moments for any football player. Now it is difficult to analyze what happened. It was an exciting match, but unfortunately we were eliminated from the tournament.”
He added: “For some periods things were going well and of course we could have done better, but that won’t change anything now. We’re out again, and it hurts.”
Van Dijk concluded his remarks by emphasizing his desire to get over the disappointment quickly, saying: “I want to go back as soon as possible to be with my family because I’m thinking about all this right now.”
The Moroccan team achieved a historic victory over the Dutch counterpart (3-2) on penalties after the end of the main and extra time (1-1).
