Van Dijk has waited a long time for a tournament like Euro 2028

Virgil van Dijk turned 35 in July, soon after the Netherlands lost to Morocco on penalties at the World Cup. He admitted he had thought about stopping. Then he met the new head coach, Xavi, and decided to carry on. If the Netherlands qualify, his next tournament is Euro 2028, largely in Britain, where he has played since 2013.

Ten seconds with Xavi decided it

Van Dijk described the meeting with the new coach in very few words. He needed a holiday with his family first, he said, and after that the conversation with Xavi did not take long. Within ten seconds he knew he would stay on. Xavi then confirmed him as captain for the Nations League games this autumn.

Speaking after a Liverpool win at Bournemouth, Van Dijk said he wanted to make "the next two years at least" a good time with the national team. Those two years run straight into the summer of 2028. The club's own report on his decision quotes Xavi calling him a positive, motivated leader who is ready to lead.

For Liverpool supporters, that changes the summer of 2028. The tournament runs from 9 June to 9 July in England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland. Fans who want to see their captain lead his country out on familiar ground have started to look at euro 2028 tickets, knowing the Netherlands still have to get through qualifying first.

His international career has been a run of near misses

It is easy to forget how little tournament football Van Dijk played in his twenties. He made his debut for the Netherlands in October 2015, just as his country was failing to reach Euro 2016. They then missed the 2018 World Cup as well. When the Netherlands did qualify for the next Euros, he could not go.

Tournament	What happened to Van Dijk
Euro 2016	Netherlands did not qualify
World Cup 2018	Netherlands did not qualify
Euro 2020, played in 2021	Missed it with a knee injury
World Cup 2022	First tournament, at 31, out in the quarter-finals
Euro 2024	Captain, lost the semi-final to England
World Cup 2026	Out in the round of 32 against Morocco

The knee injury came in the Merseyside derby in October 2020, after a challenge from Jordan Pickford. It cost him most of that season with Liverpool and the delayed Euros the following summer. By the time he walked out at a major tournament in Qatar, he was already 31.

Dortmund showed how close he has come

The Euro 2024 semi-final against England in Dortmund is as close as Van Dijk has come to a trophy with his country. Xavi Simons put the Netherlands ahead after seven minutes, and Harry Kane equalised from the penalty spot. With extra time coming, Ollie Watkins turned and scored in the 90th minute to send England to the final. The Dutch were out.

He had captained the side that night and came close to scoring himself on the hour, when Jordan Pickford saved his header. Two years earlier, in Qatar, his first tournament had ended with a quarter-final defeat on penalties against Argentina. In Dortmund, the margin was a single late goal.

Van Dijk said later that he had considered quitting after that game. Sky Sports' match report shows how little separated the two sides. For a defender who has won the Premier League and the Champions League with Liverpool, the gap between club and country was hard to miss.

The 2026 World Cup brought another early exit and more criticism at home. Van Dijk answered it by staying on, with a tournament in Britain two years away. His first games under Xavi came in the Nations League in September.

The final falls the day after his 37th birthday

Van Dijk was born on 8 July 1991. Wembley stages the Euro 2028 final on 9 July 2028, so if the Netherlands went all the way, he would play it a day after turning 37. He has said he wants to play for his country until at least that age.

Whether his body and the qualifying campaign allow it is another matter. The draw for the qualifying groups takes place on 6 December, and the matches run from March to November 2027. He will be 36 by the time the last of them is played.

He spent the first years of his international career watching tournaments from the outside. This time he has decided to stay and try to reach one played in Britain, where he built his club career. The next step is the draw in December.