Netherlands boss Frank de Boer made the unusual call to put Liverpool centre-half Virgil van Dijk up front for the national team last night.
The ‘Oranje‘ were held to a 0-0 draw against Bosnia and the manager, frustrated, told the captain to join Sevilla striker Luuk de Jong in attack.
It was an unconventional decision by de Boer, but not one that makes no sense – van Dijk’s goal-scoring record is great for a defender and he’s lethal in the air.
So much so, there have been a handful of times Jurgen Klopp has utilised a similar strategy whenever Liverpool are desperate for a goal.
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Ultimately, it didn’t work for the Netherlands this time around – chiefly because there were only a few minutes left on the clock when the instructions were given.
Moments before the full-time whistle, de Boer had to witness former Liverpool forward Ryan Babel waste a perfectly ample opportunity to win the game.
The Netherlands are up against Italy on Wednesday, where they could be in for a pretty grim night if they don’t up their act from the stalemate in Bosnia.