Matthijs de Ligt is positive about Jurriën Timber’s contribution to the the Dutch squad. The nineteen-year-old defender of Ajax had a basic place in the five-man defense of the Dutch in the practice matches against Scotland (2-2) and Georgia (3-0 win). In the first game he was next to Stefan de Vrij and De Ligt and in the second game he had Daley Blind and De Vrij next to him in the center.
“Very positive,” said De Ligt in a press conference on Timber’s progress on Thursday morning. “I have seen him play more often at Ajax, mainly in a four-man defense as a right central defender or as a right back. At Ajax you could already see that his technical base is super good. You also see that in the matches. He is calm on the ball, seeks the right solution, the footballing solution, and stands his ground defensively.”
“I think he has just done very well in the last two games. He has shown the national coach that he can play on this podium,” says the Juventus defender. It is quite conceivable that Timber will have a basic place on Sunday in the opening match of the European Championship against Ukraine. Due to De Ligt’s injuries, however, the question is which defenders national coach Frank de Boer can use.
De Ligt completed an individual program on Wednesday, after half an hour of training with the selection. He sustained a groin injury during training on Saturday. “It’s going well, it looks good. Every day we have to wait and see how it recovers and how it feels,” he says. “I have already partly trained with the group and hope to fully train with the group in the coming days. It remains to be seen how it feels on the day itself. Sunday is certainly my goal. I have my eyes on that.”
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