Virgil van Dijk makes history as Liverpool teammate gets called 'best player'

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Virgil van Dijk made history as the Netherlands captain on Monday, but it's his Liverpool colleague Cody Gakpo who has been singled out as the national team's standout performer. Liverpool skipper Van Dijk, meanwhile, became the Dutch record holder for captaining his nation on 72 occasions - an extraordinary achievement considering he has earned just 88 caps in total.

"You're a true leader and hopefully many more great moments will follow with you as captain." Van Dijk made history in his country's most recent game (Image: Getty Images) Gakpo's penalty against Lithuania extended his international tally to an impressive 19 goals in 46 matches, netting the second of four Dutch strikes on a day when Manchester City's Tijjani Reijnders, Tottenham summer acquisition Xavi Simons, and Aston Villa's Donyell Malen all got on the scoresheet. Despite the presence of numerous Premier League stars, former Netherlands, Nottingham Forest, and Celtic striker Pierre van Hooijdonk praised Gakpo as his country's finest player.

He’s just so strong, his physique is top-notch. Van Dijk made his senior debut for the Netherlands in 2015 but missed out on playing at the 2018 World Cup after his country failed to qualify.