Netherlands vs. Sweden: Virgil Van Dijk's international career on the line in pivotal World Cup Group F showdown

When Virgil van Dijk headed the Netherlands in front against Japan on Sunday, it was a timely reminder that the Liverpool defender still has something to offer at the top level.

However, come the full-time whistle in their Group F opener, Van Dijk had played his part in Japan wrestling their way back into the contest to earn a 2-2 draw that could prove pivotal.

Netherlands legend Rafael van der Vaart compared the 34-year-old's ability to change direction to a Boeing 747, while Van Dijk also did not react fast enough to prevent Koki Ogawa's header that led to Japan's equaliser.

Even before that corner, Van Dijk had lost the player that he was marking in another clear sign that he is no longer the world's best centre-back as he has long been described.

Although Netherlands came into the World Cup with their standard tag of dark-horses, facing a free-scoring and unpredictable Sweden side on Saturday could be the game that exposes Van Dijk to the point where his first-team spot at Liverpool next season could be put in jeopardy.

Why Sweden look certain to inflict World Cup misery on Netherlands

Having suffered 14 defeats during a 25-game stint at West Ham United, any concerns that Sweden fans had regarding the appointment of Graham Potter were justified.

However, the Englishman, fondly remembered from his time at Swedish side Ostersund between 2011 and 2018, has transformed Sweden into a team that few nations will want to face in the last 32, assuming that they get there.

Fourteen goals have been scored across their last five games against Ukraine, Poland, Norway, Greece and Tunisia.

Eight of those have come from Viktor Gyokeres (six) and Alexander Isak (two), yet it is only in the last two games where they have had chance to gel under Potter.

For the first time since October, Isak came through 90 minutes in the 5-1 win over Tunisia, hardly the highest quality of opponents whose only win in eight games came against Haiti.

Nevertheless, the Liverpool record signing and Arsenal's Premier League title winner Gyokeres showed enough against the African nation that they can run riot when fully-fit and in tandem.

Sweden failing to keep a clean sheet in seven matches under Potter and across 12 fixtures in total should not be ignored when assessing this contest, but the outcome simply depends on how Van Dijk and Jan Paul van Hecke handle Isak and Gyokeres.

The stats that prove that Virgil van Dijk is in decline

Van Dijk does not deserve the blame for Liverpool's 2025-26 drop-off under Arne Slot. In fact, there is an argument that the six Premier League goals that he scored in the closing 16 games were enough to suggest that he warrants a starting spot.

Nevertheless, Liverpool kept just one clean sheet - at home to Fulham - in their final 11 top-flight fixtures of 2025-26.

Furthermore, Netherlands have recorded just one shutout - at home to Lithuania - across their most recent seven internationals where Van Dijk has played at least 45 minutes. He completed the 90 minutes on five occasions.

Although Oranje shipped just seven strikes across those seven games in question, their toughest game on paper was versus a Norway side without Erling Haaland and Japan.

Van Dijk slowing down could be put down to his over-use in 2025-26. Not only did he make 55 starts for Liverpool, he has featured on 11 occasions for Netherlands since the start of September.

Those kinds of statistics blur the lines over whether Van Dijk's attributes are on the decline or if he is simply exhausted because Slot and Ronald Koeman have relied too heavily on him during the latter stages of his career.

Regardless, facing Isak and Gyokeres is a nightmare scenario for Van Dijk and Netherlands when they can ill-afford defeat.

There were times against Japan when Van Dijk and Van Hecke were as high up the pitch as 50 to 55 yards from their opponents goal when in possession. They simply cannot do that against Sweden's front two.

However, if they sit too deep and Netherlands lose, Koeman will receive criticism for veering away from the traditions of how the Dutch feel that football should be played.

Nearly nine years have passed since Netherlands and Sweden last met on the international stage, so Van Dijk encountering a traditional front two of Isak and Gyokeres is a rarity, but everything points to the 93-cap star seeing his international future and Liverpool starting berth plunged into doubt if he cannot help Netherlands help halt the emerging Sweden juggernaut.