Van Dijk hails Hungary ‘strength’ for playing on after coach collapse

Virgil van Dijk saluted Hungary for playing on after assistant coach Adam Szalai appeared to have a fit during their Nations League match.

Play was suspended for 13 minutes at the Johan Cruyff ArenA while Szalai received treatment on the pitch, with staff and substitutes forming a protective barrier around him.

The 36-year-old was taken to Amsterdam Hospital, where he later revealed on his social media channels that he was “doing well”.

Although Hungary agreed to play on, the Netherlands ran out a comfortable 4-0 winner to book a place in the Nations League quarter-finals.

Wout Weghorst and Cody Gakpo were on target from the penalty spot in the first half, while the Dutch team secured second place in Group A3 after the break thanks to goals from Denzel Dumfries and Teun Koopmeiners.

And Van Dijk paid tribute to his team's opponents.

“That was of course quite a shock,” he told NOS. “You see someone lying down, you see someone shaking. That's pretty scary. But fortunately at some point it became clear that he was stable. I hope he is doing well and recovers quickly.

“They had to decide whether they wanted to continue playing. I think it shows a lot of strength that they continued. I have a lot of respect for that.”

Speaking about his side's performance, Van Dijk added: “The pitch was very fast, but that's no excuse. It was sloppy.

“In the end we deserved to win and that is the most important thing. We go to the quarter-finals, we win and we keep a clean sheet.”

Respect, @MLSZhivatalos pic.twitter.com/eea0ajjUo3

— OnsOranje (@OnsOranje) November 16, 2024