Rafael van der Vaart savages Liverpool star Virgil van Dijk as Netherlands draw with Japan

Virgil van Dijk had a mixed night as the Netherlands were held by Japan in Dallas (Picture: Getty)

A ‘shocked’ Rafael van der Vaart took aim at Virgil van Dijk as the Netherlands were held to a 2-2 draw in their World Cup opener with Japan, likening the defender’s turning to that of a ‘Boeing 747’.

Van Dijk opened the scoring with a superb header after a goalless first half at Dallas’ AT&T Stadium, nodding Ryan Gravenberch’s cross beyond Zion Suzuki to cue rapturous scenes amongst the Orange Army.

But Japan twice fought back to rescue a point from the entertaining group-stage encounter, with Daichi Kamada equalising late on after had Keito Nakamura earlier cancelle...