Preparation for the European Championship officially starts today for the Dutch national team. At 1 p.m. national coach Frank de Boer expects his first fourteen players in Zeist, for a training period of three days. Eight more players have to drop out of the 34-man pre-selection. Next Wednesday, the elected lord will announce his 26-man European Championship selection.
According to The Telegraph At the beginning of the afternoon, eleven players from the Eredivisie will report to Zeist today, plus Norwich City goalkeeper Tim Krul and two players who are active in Russia: Quincy Promes (Spartak Moscow) and Tonny Vilhena (FK Krasnodar). Steven Berghuis, Marco Bizot, Denzel Dumfries, Cody Gakpo, Ryan Gravenberch, Davy Klaassen, Teun Koopmeiners, Donyell Malen, Maarten Stekelenburg, Jurriën Timber and Owen Wijndal are the other players who sign up. Daley Blind, still recovering from an ankle injury, reports later.
Later in the day, the aforementioned players will complete their first training on their way to the European Championship, which will start for the Netherlands on June 13 with a match against Ukraine. This is followed by group duels with Austria (June 17) and North Macedonia (June 21). After De Boer has announced his final European Championship selection, the available internationals will report in Zeist next Friday. Friday afternoon and Saturday morning are still trained on Dutch soil, after which the selection travels to Lagos, Portugal. A friendly match against Scotland is scheduled for Wednesday 2 June. On Sunday, June 6, the Dutch national team will practice against Georgia.
In the preparation, the national coach wants to lay the foundation for a successful tournament, where he is aiming for at least the semi-finals. “But then everything has to go well,” he wrote in it Algemeen Dagblad. De Boer also wants his team to be able to play in different ways. “I want us to be able to switch very quickly. Also during competitions. From 4-3-3 to 5-3-2 or 3-5-2 or 3-4-3. In the preparation we will try to get that in. I have already discussed that with a number of players. ”
The full pre-selection:
Target: Marco Bizot (AZ), Jasper Cillessen (Valencia), Tim Krul (Norwich City), Maarten Stekelenburg (Ajax)
Defense: Patrick van Aanholt (Crystal Palace), Nathan Aké (Manchester City), Daley Blind (Ajax), Denzel Dumfries (PSV), Hans Hateboer (Atalanta), Rick Karsdorp (AS Roma), Matthijs de Ligt (Juventus), Jeremiah St. Juste (FSV Mainz 05), Kenny Tete (Fulham), Jurriën Timber (Ajax), Joël Veltman (Brighton & Hove Albion), Stefan de Vrij (Internazionale), Owen Wijndal (AZ)
Midfield: Donny van de Beek (Manchester United), Ryan Gravenberch (Ajax), Frenkie de Jong (Barcelona), Davy Klaassen (Ajax), Teun Koopmeiners (AZ), Marten de Roon (Atalanta), Tonny Vilhena (FK Krasnodar), Georginio Wijnaldum (Liverpool)
Attack: Steven Berghuis (Feyenoord), Steven Bergwijn (Tottenham Hotspur), Anwar El Ghazi (Aston Villa), Cody Gakpo (PSV), Luuk de Jong (Sevilla), Donyell Malen (PSV), Memphis Depay (Olympique Lyon), Quincy Promes ( Spartak Moscow) and Wout Weghorst (VfL Wolfsburg)
Voetbalzone keeps you informed about everything about EURO 2020
Curious about the current standings, the match program and much more European Championship news? Click here!