Virgil van Dijk refuses to focus on Lionel Messi ahead of Netherlands vs Argentina at World Cup 2022

Virgil van Dijk refused to reveal how the Netherlands would attempt to deal with Lionel Messi in their World Cup quarter-final tie.

Argentina’s talisman is growing in form ahead of Friday’s meeting at Lusail Stadium.

Asked repeatedly about Messi during a pre-game press conference, Dutch captain Van Dijk was content to deflect the focus time and time again.

“It’s not about me, or the Netherlands, against Messi, it’s about the Netherlands against Argentina,” he said several times.

In response to a question about how worried they might be about the threat of the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner, the Liverpool centre-back instead spoke about Argentina’s threat as a team.

Van Dijk said: “Worried no, but cautious of what Argentina can bring to the game.

“They are a fantastic team with fantastic players, and we are going to have to do well in all departments of the match.

“We also feel that our play in the last game could have been better. We are all perfectionists and could like to have performed better. But what is nice is that we are still in the competition and playing in the quarter-finals.”

Additional reporting by Reuters.