Virgil van Dijk Reportedly Expected to Retire from National Team Following World Cup
· Yahoo Sports
Today, Virgil van Dijk will captain the Netherlands in their first match of the 2026 World Cup against Japan, with the Dutch favourites to top Group F and for many one of the overall World Cup favourites.
Whatever happens over the next five weeks, though, there was a feeling that at 34 years of age—and set to turn 35 before the tournament ends—this would be the final World Cup for Van Dijk. Whether it would also be the end for the defensive colossus with the national team, full stop, or if he might have one more Euros left in the tank seemed less certain.
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According to Dutch reports ahead of the match, it appears the answer is that he doesn’t, and Van Dijk will retire from the national team when their World Cup ends.
The question now is when it ends. Japan along with Tunisia and Sweden make for a difficult group, but the Oranje will still be expected to come out on top. If they are to do so, Japan are likely to be their toughest challenge, and so the opener could say a lot about how they’ll measure up compared to expectation.
Meanwhile at the club level, after a massively disappointing 2025-26 campaign with Liverpool there have been whispers of Galatasaray interest in the player but as yet no suggestion that the Reds would consider selling their captain even were that interest to prove legitimate.