Friendships will be flung out of the window tonight when Sweden take on the Netherlands in a World Cup showdown in Texas.

The Group F clash in Houston will see a head-on collision between Alexander Isak and Liverpool team-mate Virgil Van Dijk. A scrap between two adopted Scousers, which could well decide the outcome of a game crucial to both sides.

Sweden made a barnstorming start to the tournament after swatting aside Tunisia in a Monterrey massacre. Isak was one of the stars of the five star show, scoring his side’s second goal and providing two assists, to remind the world what a potent striker he can be.

One which persuaded Liverpool to spend £125m on signing him from Newcastle United last summer, making him the most expensive player in British football history. But what happened since then makes that moment feel a long time ago. So long in fact, that Van Dijk himself might need to remind himself of how lethal Isak is again.

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Since welcoming Isak to Anfield, all Van Dijk laid eyes on is a very expensive and frustrating flop.

Isak arrived on Merseyside low on fitness having been on strike at Newcastle. He then got injured in a win at Tottenham before Christmas, which sidelined him until April.

And while Van Dijk hardly had a season to remember himself, the Dutch giant could be forgiven for not shaking in his boots at the prospect of having to stop someone who has started just 13 games in the famous red shirt to date, scoring four times.

Isak spent part of this week training alone at Sweden’s base in Frisco, managing a hamstring tweak he suffered against Tunisia. But Sweden have confirmed he will be fit and available to face the Netherlands.

Sweden need him, almost as much as new Liverpool manager Andola Iraola will do when the new Premier League season kicks off in August.

There will be few more interested onlookers than Iraola tonight. He will want to Isak looking swift, sharp and threatening. Van Dijk won’t, but the sub-plot remains a fascinating one, considering Isak has more to gain from this personal with his club captain.

While Van Dijk’s exceptionally high standards dipped last season, he remains one of the best defenders in the game. And with the Netherlands having been held to a draw by Japan in their opening salvo in Dallas, Van Dijk will be more determined than ever to shut out Isak to boost his side’s chances of breathing new life into their campaign.

He knows defeat isn’t necessarily the end of the Dutch’s hopes. But it’ll make any knockout match in the round of 32 a damn sight harder.

Isak, on the other hand, knows if he can get the better of Van Dijk to book Sweden a place in the knockout stages, it will confirm to Iraola and the rest of the world that he is back.

The stakes are high on both sides of the equation. So let battle commence.

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