Soccer-Soccer-Van Dijk is one-up over Messi but still rates him best

FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 - Round of 16 - Netherlands v United States - Khalifa International Stadium, Doha, Qatar - December 3, 2022 Netherlands' Virgil van Dijk celebrates after the match as Netherlands progress to the quarter finals REUTERS/John Sibley

DOHA (Reuters) - Netherlands captain Virgil van Dijk remains wary about the threat Lionel Messi poses when the Dutch go up against Argentina in Friday’s World Cup quarter-finals, even though he came out on the winning side the last time they met in club football.

Van Dijk called Messi the best player he had played against after his side Liverpool came back from a three-goal first-leg deficit to beat Barcelona on their way to winning the 2019 Champions League and has repeated the tribute in Qatar after the Dutch booked their last-eight spot.