As the Netherlands players celebrated the goal that would confirm their place in the quarter-finals, Virgil van Dijk made a beeline for midfielder Marten de Roon.
The Liverpool star is captaining Louis van Gaal's side at this World Cup as they seek to win the competition for the first time ever. Van Dijk eased through the first-half from the centre of defence, helping the Dutch to hold off their opponents despite the United States having the majority of the ball.
While he made his expected contribution in terms of tackles, interceptions and clearances, Van Dijk also played a key leadership role. Goals from Memphis Depay, Daley Blind and Denzel Dumfries were enough for the Netherlands to progress, but Van Dijk moved to calm his team-mates as they celebrated Blind's crucial strike.
The entire Netherlands squad had run into the corner after Blind fired in from Denzel Dumfries' pull-back, with the scorer having a touching moment with his father in the crowd. And as they were heading back to their positions, Van Dijk proceeded to pull several of his team-mates into one-to-one conversations.
The first was with De Roon, who he clapped hands with before putting his arm round the midfielder's back and appearing to deliver a serious message. He then approached Davey Klassen, before heading towards goalscorer Blind and centre-back Jurrien Timber.
What Van Dijk told his team-mates will likely stay between them, but it was a sign of his leadership that he pulled some of the squad into a conversation. Former Manchester United star Dion Dublin was certainly left impressed by his performance.
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"I've never seen Virgil van Dijk sprint anyway because he is so good but he is just marshalling the Netherlands defence, wherever he wants them to go," Dublin said in commentary for BBC Radio 5 Live.
Van Dijk's Rolls Royce-esque performance stood in stark contract to the man dubbed Captain America. Christian Pulisic started on the left wing for the United States and spurned a glorious chance to put his side in front just three minutes in.
He had beaten the offside trap and was one-on-one with Andries Noppert but fired his shot straight at the Dutch goalkeeper. Pulisic has long been seen as the Unites States' star player, but the finger of blame was being pointed firmly at him by many American supporters.
"Christian Pulisic is overrated. He scored a goal that every other professional soccer player would have, other than that he’s played a really bad World Cup," one fan wrote. Another added: "I’ll be the first to say it. Christian Pulisic is overrated as hell."
Pulisic continued to struggle as the match wore on, completing just two crosses and being dispossessed three times. His miss proved critical, with Depay putting the Netherlands in front seven minutes later as he put the finishing touch on a wonderful team goal.
Blind would then go on to fire in the crucial second right at the end of the first-half. The United States did halve the deficit thanks to Haji Wright's brilliant flick, but Van Dijk marshalled his side into the quarter-finals, with Dumfries volleying in the clinching third goal.
