Should Georginio Wijnaldum also score against the Czech Republic on Sunday, the cheering will follow with the hand under his chin and the tongue out of his mouth. The captain of the Dutch national team pays tribute to his good friend Virgil van Dijk, who ultimately had to drop the European Championship due to the serious knee injury he sustained at Liverpool last year.
“Virgil van Dijk always cheers like this,” Wijnaldum explains at the the Dutch press conference on Thursday afternoon. “In this way I show that we are thinking of him. But if he is fit again, I will stop. Then it has been nice,” said the the Dutch midfielder, in the group stage of this European Championship against Ukraine ( 3-2) and North Macedonia (0-3). Wijnaldum acknowledges that he has almost daily contact with Van Dijk, who is working hard on his recovery at Liverpool.
Georginio Wijnaldum’s way of cheering is clearly shown.
“Before the game with North Macedonia, he asked me for two goals,” Wijnaldum continues with a joke. “He sets the high quite high, but I managed to do it. No, Virgil has not yet announced how many goals I have to score against the Czech Republic. But hopefully he finds one goal enough,” the Paris Saint-Germain acquisition looks ahead. at the meeting in the eighth final of the European Championship, on Sunday in the Puskás Aréna in Budapest.
Only Cristiano Ronaldo (five) has so far managed to score more in the European Championship than Wijnaldum, who closed the group stage with three goals. The top scorers list is nevertheless not great issue for the thirty-year-old midfielder. “I don’t think it’s so much my quality to score. I am able to create a lot of chances and if you get a lot of opportunities, then of course it becomes easier to score,” said Wijnaldum.
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