A golden night in Eindhoven

Some milestones just feel right. Virgil van Dijk winning his 100th cap for the Netherlands on Sunday was one of those occasions where sport does exactly what it should, rewarding a player who has given everything to the shirt with a night he and his family will never forget. The Liverpool captain led Oranje out at the Philips Stadium with his young son as mascot, was presented with a golden bowl and a commemorative shirt by the Dutch FA before kick-off, and then went and won the match. As van Dijk himself put it: you don't want to end your 100th on a low note.

Goals from Joshua Zirkzee and Teun Koopmeiners gave the Netherlands a 2-1 victory over Serbia, despite a goal from Mihajlo Cvetkovic, and the result gave the evening the ending it deserved. The Dutch boss Xavi was fulsome in his praise afterwards, saying in the dressing room: "I have just let it be known in the dressing room that I am extremely proud of Virgil. He is an example. He has done very well, for himself and for the team. He is a real leader, I am proud to be his coach."

What van Dijk said about carrying on

The part that will interest Liverpool supporters most is what van Dijk had to say about his future. At 35, and inside the final 12 months of his Anfield contract, there were plenty watching on wondering what comes next. The answer, delivered with characteristic calm, was unambiguous. "For me, it doesn't stop at 100," he told NOS. "Of course I'm not going to stop now. Especially when you look at how things are going and what we can do even better. I can have a nice part in that, I think."

He was honest about where he draws his motivation from, and it was refreshing to hear. "Playing football is the most fun there is," he said. "I understand that people look at age in our sport. When things are going well, they say: 'Oh how good for your age.' And otherwise you are an old man. I just have to make sure that I perform as well as possible for the team, on and off the field." That distinction, on and off the field, matters. Van Dijk has been Liverpool's captain since 2023 and the leadership role clearly means as much to him as anything he does between the white lines.

He also reflected with a touch of wistfulness on what might have been. A serious knee injury in 2020 cost him a significant chunk of his international career, and he acknowledged that without it, a tilt at Wesley Sneijder's Dutch record of 134 caps might not have been entirely out of reach. It wasn't self-pity, just an honest reckoning with his own story.

What this means for Liverpool

For all the warmth of Sunday evening, the contractual reality remains. Van Dijk is in the final stretch of his current deal at Anfield, and a player of his stature approaching the back end of his thirties will always generate speculation. But nothing in his words suggested a man winding down or looking for the exit. "I feel like I'm in a good position now, so I just have to keep going," he said, and there was nothing in his tone to suggest that was anything other than genuine.

He also made clear where his priorities lie. "What did I like best about tonight? That my family was there. Coming up with my son. And winning of course. Because you just want to win. Period." That competitive instinct, still burning at 35 and 100 caps in, is precisely what Liverpool need from their skipper in the months ahead. The contract question will resolve itself one way or another, what matters right now is that van Dijk shows no sign whatsoever of being done.