Andries Noppert has lost his place under the bar at SC Heerenveen, writes the Leeuwarder Courant. The 29-year-old goalkeeper has been struggling with a dip in form for some time and made another mistake in the home match against AZ (2-2) last weekend. Trainer Kees van Wonderen now draws his conclusions.

There seemed to be no problem for Heerenveen on Sunday afternoon. The Frisians led 2-1 at home against AZ and also played with one more man. However, due to a blunder by Noppert, who shot the ball against teammate Pawel Bochniewicz, the game ended in a draw.

It was not the first time that Noppert was not released this season. The goalkeeper previously made a mistake against PEC Zwolle, Sparta Rotterdam and FC Twente. The World Cup goalkeeper is therefore no longer held over his head by coach Kees van Wonderen.

Van Wonderen will prefer Micky van der Hart in the away match against Fortuna Sittard next weekend, as Sander de Vries reports on behalf of the Leeuwarder Courant. Van der Hart has played twice for Heerenveen so far.

The fact that Noppert is passed by Van Wonderen does not come completely out of the blue. Earlier this season there were also speculations when the 29-year-old goalie made a mistake, but he could continue to count on the confidence of his coach.

Noppert returned to Heerenveen in the 2022/23 season and was immediately of great value by acting as one of the supporting forces. The goalkeeper regularly kept a clean sheet and even came into the picture of Louis van Gaal, then coach of the Dutch national team.

Van Gaal first brought Noppert into the Dutch selection in September 2022 and also included him in the selection for the World Cup. Noppert was ultimately preferred over Justin Bijlow and Remko Pasveer and became the second Dutch player to make his debut at a World Cup after Dick Schoenaker (1978).

However, due to his dip in form, Noppert fell out of the picture for the Dutch team in the past six months. Due to his mistake in the home match against AZ, he has now also lost his place at Heerenveen. The Frisian club has not won six games in a row, so Van Wonderen benefits from results.

More sports news