The race to the FIFA Best Men's Player of 2019 is heating up
#2 Virgil van Dijk (Netherlands, Liverpool)
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Virgil van Dijk failed to win the UEFA Nations League with the Ne
The Dutchman was clearly one of the favourites to win the Best FIFA Men's Player Award after he guided Liverpool to the UEFA Champions League triumph.
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All Virgil van Dijk had to do was win the UEFA Nations League to be declared the outright favourite. Unfortunately for him, Netherlands came up short in front of a shrewd Portugal side.
Van Dijk was instrumental for his country as they reached the semi final of the UEFA Nations League.
In the semis, the Netherlands faced an inspired England side, but were hardly troubled. England did win a penalty after Rashford was fouled by De Ligt, but apart from that, the Dutch defence, marshaled by Van Dijk, were hardly troubled. They won the game 3-1 and progressed into the final to meet Portugal.
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Neither side were clear favourites, but this was a battle between Ronaldo and Van Dijk. The Dutchman was successful in keeping the fiery Portuguese quiet, but Portugal won the game 1-0 thanks to a goal from Goncalo Guedes in the 60th minute.
The defeat at the hands of Portugal means that Virgil van Dijk is still 2nd among the top contenders for the Best FIFA Men's Player Award at the start of July.
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Deepungsu Pandit
Deepungsu is a veteran football journalist who has been covering daily transfer roundups and news for over six years at Sportskeeda. He has written close to 9000 articles for the website, and has garnered over 19.5Million reads.
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