One Liverpool player has been the subject of a hard-hitting tirade from an outspoken columnist in his homeland after his country were knocked out of the\u00a0World Cup.<\/p>\n
Five of the eight Reds players have seen their involvement at the tournament come to an end over the past 48 hours, with three bowing out at once as Netherlands lost to Morocco on penalties on Monday night.<\/p>\n
DOWNLOAD THE OFFICIAL EMPIRE OF THE KOP APP FOR ALL THE LATEST & BREAKING UPDATES \u2013 STRAIGHT TO YOUR PHONE! ON\u00a0APPLE<\/a>\u00a0&\u00a0GOOGLE PLAY<\/a><\/p>\n Cody Gakpo heroically played in that game (and scored) even after the heartbreaking loss of his unborn son in recent days, although one of his Anfield teammates was the subject of a vicious tirade from the nation\u2019s media.<\/p>\n Dutch columnist blasts Van Dijk after World Cup exit<\/p>\n De Telegraaf<\/a>\u2018s Valentijn Driessen didn\u2019t hold back in his condemnation of Virgil van Dijk after the Oranje\u2019s World Cup exit, a \u2018great disgrace\u2019 of a result which prompted head coach Ronald Koeman to step down from his position.<\/p>\n The columnist accused both men of having \u2018betrayed everything our national team stands for\u2019, lamenting the change to a back-three formation as a consequence of the Liverpool captain not getting his \u2018defensive act together\u2019 during the group stage.<\/p>\n Driessen blamed the 34-year-old for being \u2018out of position\u2019 and losing track of Issa Diop for Morocco\u2019s stoppage-time equaliser, with the writer stating his belief that the Dutch defender\u2019s \u2018time is up\u2019.<\/p>\n Want more Empire of the Kop coverage? Add us as a\u00a0preferred source on Google<\/a>\u00a0to your favourites list for news you can trust<\/p>\n Not Driessen\u2019s first time hammering Van Dijk<\/p>\n Admittedly Van Dijk could\u2019ve done better on the goal which took the game to extra time (and later penalties), allowing the Fulham centre-back to run in behind him and get his head to Chemsdine Talbi\u2019s cross, but we still think that the columnist\u2019s criticism of him is excessive.<\/p>\n The skipper played through the pain barrier in extra time despite (as Koeman revealed afterwards<\/a>) his calf \u2018bothering him badly\u2019 \u2013 hardly the actions of someone who was \u2018betraying\u2019 his country on the world stage.<\/p>\n The Liverpool captain was reasonably solid throughout the match, making six clearances and winning four of his six duels (Sofascore<\/a>), though he was fatefully caught out for the equaliser.<\/p>\n