Virgil van Dijk might have to get a tear drop tattoo after he obliterated Argentina’s Leandro Paredes on Friday during the Netherlands 4-3 penalty defeat against the South American giants.
Friday’s quarterfinal was an intense and feisty affair as there were several skirmishes and shoving matches throughout the night.
The best moment of the fights was in the 89th minute when Paredes put in a hard tackle on Nathan Aké and then kicked the ball as hard as he could at the Dutch bench. Van Dijk wasn’t going to let that one fly and proceeded to body check the Argentine midfielder.
Van Dijk Hits Paredes
OH MY
Things are HEATED between Argentina and Netherlands pic.twitter.com/7NXz93ts8x— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) December 9, 2022
Virgil van Dijk came in hot pic.twitter.com/cIeVHAY03c
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) December 9, 2022
These photos of Virgil van Dijk pic.twitter.com/LxPwgKAxkw
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) December 9, 2022
The New York Giants could really use some help at linebacker and should consider giving van Dijk a ring. That was perfect form, no unnecessary roughness, no helmet-to-helmet, just a clean and forceful hit.
Excuse my French, however Paredes played the age-old game of “f*ck around and find out.” Was it a cheap shot from van Dijk? Probably. Did Paredes deserve it? Absolutely.
Karma momentarily caught up to Argentina and Paredes as they conceded the latest second half goal in World Cup knockout history.
NETHERLANDS TIES IT IN THE 100TH MINUTE
MADNESS pic.twitter.com/Q1vcrpwSPO— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) December 9, 2022
The game would go down to a penalty shootout with Lautaro Martínez scoring Argentina’s fifth and decisive penalty.
ARGENTINA IS MOVING ON TO THE SEMIFINALS pic.twitter.com/lUe4bRMuvT
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) December 9, 2022
Argentina advances to the semifinals and will play Croatia on Tuesday, Dec. 13 at 2 p.m. ET.
