Virgil van Dijk Reacts To 'Very Scary' Incident That Left Liverpool's Dominik Szoboszlai In Tears

The Netherlands have progressed to the UEFA Nations League quarterfinals after thrashing Hungary 4-0 on Saturday night

Hungary midfielder Dominik Szoboslai, Netherlands defender Virgil van Dijk during the match Netherlands - Hungary at the Johan Cruijff ArenA for the UEFA Nations League - League A - Group A3 / IMAGO / DeFodi Images

 

Virgil van Dijk says it was "very scary" to see Hungary assistant coach Adam Szalai collapse during the Netherlands' 4-0 win in the UEFA Nations League on Saturday night.

Liverpool forward Cody Gakpo scored from the penalty spot in first-half stoppage time as the Dutch secured a convincing win over Hungary who were skippered by Dominik Szoboszlai.

Gakpo and Ryan Gravenberch were both substituted around 10 minutes from full-time while Van Dijk and Szoboszlai finished the game at the Johan Cruyff Stadium.

The match had to be halted for more than 10 minutes due to a medical emergency on the Hungary bench involving Szalai, something that reduced many players to tears.

The 36-year-old underwent treatment shielded from view by players, staff members, and a large white sheet. Hungarian FA later released a statement saying he was “conscious” and in a “stable condition” at an Amsterdam hospital.

Speaking about the incident after the game  Van Dijk told Holland news outlet NOS:  "It's a shock of course. You see someone lying down. You see someone shaking. Then it's a bit scary, to be honest.

"At one point it became clear that he was stable. I asked (Liverpool team-mate Dominik) Szoboszlai if he had experienced this before. It turned out that he had. It was very scary to see, but I hope he is doing well and that he can recover well. This is the most important thing now."

Szoboszlai was in tears after the collapse of Szalai and later said to Hungary news channel M4 Sport: "It was difficult. We started well, but we lost our minds a little because of what happened.

"I don't wish this on anyone, the same thing happened to me in the case of Barnabas Varga. I just looked to the bench and watched the whole thing. I can accept that what happened was in his head. We had a discussion, everyone said let's continue for Adam, nothing else. Unfortunately, that wasn't enough now."

Hungary assistant coach Adam Szalai, meanwhile provided the latest update on his health claiming he is "doing well" after collapsing.

In a Facebook post, he wrote: "Thanks for the lots of messages, I'm doing well."