Following Louis van Gaal, Erwin van de Looi has also announced his pre-selection. The national coach of Jong Oranje welcomes no fewer than 22 new players, who will meet Young Moldova on Tuesday 7 September as the first opponent in the European Championship qualification. The final selection of 23 players will be announced on Friday, August 27, just like the big the Dutch.
In addition to all the new names, there are also a number of familiar faces, including Myron Boadu, Joshua Zirkzee, Brian Brobbey, Jurgen Ekkelenkamp and Sven Botman. “We are starting with a new batch of players who were born after January 1, 2000 and for this we had to say goodbye to a generation of players”, Van de Looi explains his selection. “The previous European Championship qualifying series was very successful and because of this we were also at the European Championship for the first time since 2013. This naturally tastes like more and we will do everything we can with this new batch to make this happen.”
The Dutch Juniors stranded this summer during the European Championship in the semi-finals, when Germany proved too strong with 1-2. In the quarterfinals, Van de Looi’s team managed to get rid of France surprisingly well. The European championship, which was divided over two periods, was eventually won by the Germans. “As a coach of the Dutch Juniors, I look forward to forging a good and close-knit team with this new generation that can compete at the highest level with the very best,” continues Van de Looi.
The 2023 European Championship is jointly organized by Romania and Georgia and will be held in June. Sixteen countries will participate in the final tournament, with Georgia and Romania automatically qualified as host countries. 53 countries participate in the qualifying cycle, which are divided into eight groups of six and one group of five. The group winners and the best number two, measured over all nine groups, qualify directly for the European Championship. The other best numbers two also have a chance to win the remaining four European Championship tickets via a play-off.
The pre-selection of the Dutch Juniors:
Target: Calvin Raatsie (Ajax), Jay Gorter (Ajax), Kjell Scherpen (Brighton & Hove Albion), Bart Verbruggen (Anderlecht), Fabian de Keijzer (FC Utrecht)
Defense: Mitchel Bakker (Bayer Leverkusen), Sepp van den Berg (Preston North End), Melayro Bogarde (TSG Hoffenheim), Sven Botman (Lille OSC), Jeremie Frimpong (Bayer Leverkusen), Milan van Ewijk (Sc Heerenveen), Ramon Hendriks (Feyenoord ), Ki-Jana Hoever (Wolverhampton Wanderers), Neraysho Kasanwirjo (FC Groningen), Jayden Oosterwolde (FC Twente), Micky van de Ven (FC Volendam)
Midfield: Wouter Burger (Feyenoord), Jurgen Ekkelenkamp (Ajax), Kenzo Goudmijn (Sparta Rotterdam), Daniël van Kaam (FC Groningen), Ian Maatsen (Conventry City), Immanuel Pherai (Borussia Dortmund), Ludovit Reis (Hamburger SV), Kenneth Taylor (Ajax), Quinten Timber (FC Utrecht)
Attack: Vicente Besuijen (ADO Den Haag), Myron Boadu (AS Monaco), Brian Brobbey (RB Leipzig), Fodé Fofana (PSV), Sydney van Hooijdonk (Bologna), Daishawn Redan (Hertha Berlin), Joshua Zirkzee (RSC Anderlecht)