Virgil van Dijk’s late, late goal for the Netherlands on Monday sent his resurgent nation through to the finals of the Uefa Nations League and, as much as that’ll mean to his countrymen, one lucky punter will perhaps treasure that moment more than even the most ardent follower of Oranje.
As well as securing them a 2-2 draw and taking them to next summer’s finals, it landed the last leg of his 2000/1 Bet Builder wager on the match and netted him a cool £10,005 pot.
The other three parts of his bet, on which he staked £5 with Bet365, were: Georginio Wijnaldum to be booked, Mats Hummels to be booked and Toni Kroos to find his way into the book.
Hummels did the business for the punter in the 14th minute, with Wijnaldum ticking off the second box in the 38th minute. Shortly after halftime, Kroos got onboard, leaving just a Van Dijk goal to complete the quartet of selections.
With the Netherlands trailing 2-1 and with minutes remaining, they needed a goal to secure passage through to the semi-finals and to boost this backer’s coffers in the run-up.
He did it, and with a bit of aplomb too. What a result for this chap.