Van Dijk: We practiced so many penalties and still got knocked out this way

Netherlands captain Virgil van Dijk admitted that he and his teammates had practiced penalties extensively, but it ultimately wasn't enough to keep the 'Oranje' in the 2026 World Cup. The Dutch side fell 2-3 in a penalty shootout against Morocco, after the two teams played to a 1-1 draw in regular time and extra time.

"We practiced so many penalties, and we still lost. Now I just want to get back to the locker room as quickly as possible to be with the lads. That's my only thought right now. This is the worst moment for any footballer. It's quite difficult to analyze things right now. It was a very tense match, but we're out, which is a huge disappointment. For a while, everything was going well. Of course, we could have played even stronger, but there's no point dwelling on that now," Van Dijk told the media after the Netherlands' dramatic exit.