"The difficult thing about him is when we are attacking, he is chilling somewhere in a corner or something," remembered Van Dijk.
From Prime Minister Narendra Modi to eminent sports personalities, the country was wholesome in its praise for the Indian hockey team's gutsy effort.
Chelsea coach Maurizio Sarri said the refusal of his goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga to be substituted in Sunday's League Cup final was the result of a "big misunderstanding", adding that the Spaniard "was right but in the wrong way".
Goalkeeper PR Sreejesh starred in front of the goal to help India beat South Korea via the penalty shootout to enter the final of the fourth Asian Champions Trophy hockey tournament, in Kuantan, Malaysia on Saturday.
IMAGES from the FIFA World Cup semi-final between Argentina and Croatia played at Lusail Stadium on Tuesday.
Argentine great Diego Maradona said England perpetrated a "monumental robbery" in their World Cup victory over Colombia and accused referee Mark Geiger of not being up to such a game.
Netherlands goalkeeper Tim Krul was back defending himself on Sunday, less than 24 hours after making two stunning penalty saves against Costa Rica to book his team's place in the World Cup semi-finals.
The Indian hockey team finished sixth at the FIH World League after losing a tense play-off match on penalties to higher-ranked Spain, in Rotterdam on Sunday.
Italy's ability to get over the line in by far their biggest challenge of the Euros so far has made many people on the peninsula more convinced than ever of their ability to go on and win it on Sunday.
Everton knocked holders Chelsea out of the FA Cup when they won their fourth-round replay 4-3 on penalties after a 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.
ATK Mohun Bagan will meet Bengaluru FC in the ISL final, following their semifinal win over Hyderabad FC.
Argentina beat Belgium 4-2 to claim the Olympic title and win their country's first Games medal in men's hockey, edging a close-fought match between two teams few expected to make the final.
India settled for silver after losing to Australia 3-1 (0-0) in penalty shootout in the final of Champions Trophy hockey tournament in London on Saturday. After their spectacular effort to hold World No.1 Australia at 0-0 in regular time, India missed three penalties in the shootout to go down fighting in a morale-boosting clash. SK Uthappa, vice-captain SV Sunil and Surendar Kumar missed the strokes for India.
Services added three gold to their collection and remain on top of the charts with 56 gold, 34 silver and 30 bronze medals for a total of 120.
Germany goalkeeper Jens Lehmann's crumpled cheat sheet that helped him save penalties against Argentina in the 2006 World Cup quarter-final shootout raised one million euros ($1.3 million) for charity on Saturday.
The Italians won 9-8 after the two sides drew their Champions World Series match 1-1.
Bayern Munich eased past title rivals Borussia Dortmund 3-1 on Saturday to secure their 10th consecutive Bundesliga crown in front of a sold-out home crowd and with three games to spare, while Paris St Germain secured a record-equalling 10th French top flight title after stuttering to a 1-1 home draw by 10-man RC Lens.
Red Bull's Verstappen, who had been on pole at Zandvoort every year since the circuit returned in 2021 and has yet to be beaten there, will still line up alongside the Briton on the front row.
Red Bull's Max Verstappen, last year's winner at his team's home circuit, qualified third.
A Delhi court Monday awarded death penalty to Ariz Khan for the murder of decorated Delhi Police Inspector Mohan Chand Sharma in connection with the sensational 2008 Batla House encounter case, saying the offence fell under the 'rarest of the rare category' warranting the maximum sentence.
Hosts India beat defending champions Netherlands 3-2 in a penalty shootout to win the bronze at the Hockey World League Final in Raipur.
FIFA technical director Marco van Basten would like to see how football works without offside and limit the number of fouls a player can commit during a game.
Liverpool's pursuit of a second Wembley Cup final appearance was stalled at Anfield on Saturday as Juergen Klopp's second-string side had to settle for an undistinguished goalless draw with West Ham United in the fourth round of the FA Cup. Four days after reaching the League Cup final with their penalty shootout win over StokeCity, Klopp, no fan of English football's congested fixture lists, opted to trust his youngsters as he made 10 changes to the team that played 120 minutes on Tuesday. His faith was only partially rewarded with his young side creating enough chances to earn victory after a dour first half but lacking the cutting edge up front to avoid yet another fixture, an unwanted and difficult replay at Upton Park.
India will play South Africa in the ninth to 12th place match on Saturday.
Italy defender Leonardo Bonucci could not get enough of the sponsors' offerings on Sunday, taking big swigs of Coca-Cola and Heineken as he spoke to media after their victory over England.
India will start as favourites against Maldives in the summit clash of the South Asian Football Federation Cup, in Dhaka, on Saturday.
Italy set up a Euro 2020 semi-final with Spain after first half goals from Nicolo Barella and Lorenzo Insigne led the Azzurri to a 2-1 victory over Belgium on Friday in an entertaining encounter in which both sides created a number of chances.
Germany beat France in a penalty shootout after their thrilling Women's World Cup quarter-final ended 1-1 after extra-time.
IMAGES from the FIFA World Cup Round of 16 match played between Brazil and South Korea on Monday.
Triple Formula One world champion Verstappen missed out on pole because he set his time of one minute 12.000 seconds after his British rival in a drama-filled qualifying session at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.
India face tough Iraq test sans Chhetri
FIFA president Sepp Blatter believes future World Cup finals should not be decided by penalties and said changes could be in place for the showpiece tournament in South Africa in four years.
Sweden goalkeeper Patrik Carlgren saved two penalties as they beat Portugal 4-3 in a shootout following a 0-0 draw in the Euro Under-21 Championship final.
The Football Association said fans who exhibited such "disgusting behaviour" were not welcome and urged the authorities to hand out "the toughest punishments possible".
Colombia reached the quarter-finals of the World Cup for the first time after a double from James Rodriguez gave them a 2-0 win over Uruguay in Rio de Janeiro on Saturday.
Chelsea's woes continued when the holders were dumped out of the Capital One (League) Cup fourth round following a shootout defeat by Stoke City on Tuesday, while Arsenal suffered a humiliating 3-0 defeat at second tier Sheffield Wednesday.
Liverpool beat Arsenal at Anfield in a penalty shootout on Wednesday after their last-16 tie ended 5-5 in regulation.
Former India men's hockey head coach Roelant Oltmans blamed the lack of tactical awareness and a non-existent club culture for India's early exit from the 2023 Hockey World Cup.
For Argentina players and captain Messi, who netted twice in the 120 minutes before also scoring in the shoot-out, it was the biggest title of their careers.
