National coaches Erwin van de Looi of the Dutch Juniors and Frank de Boer of Orange have to conclude a conclave about the composition of their European Championship selections. Last month, the Dutch Juniors qualified for the European Under-21 Championship, which starts on March 24 and ends on June 6, a week before the first group match of the ‘big’ Orange at the European Championship against Ukraine. Because many players are skipping between the Juniors and the Dutch national team, the question is for the time being what Van de Looi’s selection will look like.

The youth European Championship is split into two parts due to the corona crisis. Between 24 and 31 March, the group stage will be completed in the host countries Hungary and Slovenia, with the final round taking place between May 31 and June 6. If the Dutch Juniors were to reach the final, it will be played only seven days before the game between the Orange and Ukraine. On paper, all talents that De Boer would like to bring to the European Championship can also come out at the youth European Championship, but it is precisely in the international periods of March and May that preparations for the European Championship of the ‘big’ Orange start.

In a list of players who have a chance to play in both tournaments, The Telegraph Ryan Gravenberch, Perr Schuurs (both Ajax), Owen Wijndal, Teun Koopmeiners, Calvin Stengs, Myron Boadu (all AZ), Joshua Zirkzee (Bayern Munich), Justin Bijlow (Feyenoord), Javairo Dilrosun (Hertha BSC), Sven Botman (Lille) OSC), Mitchel Bakker (Paris Saint-Germain), Cody Gakpo (PSV) and Justin Kluivert (RB Leipzig). Van de Looi indicates in an interview with the newspaper that no agreements have yet been made about the composition of his selection.

“We will discuss this with each other in the near future. It is wonderful if young players are with the Dutch national team as much as possible, but it would of course also be good for many of them to play this youth European Championship”, says the national coach. of Jong Oranje. “If someone is a basic player at Orange, take Matthijs de Ligt, then we don’t talk about anything. It would be ridiculous to want to bring him in, of course. But if boys play a small role in the great Orange, then we should discuss what them the best. ” Van de Looi notes that a maximum of three matches will be played in the final phase of the youth European Championship. “Those guys will survive that, when I see the busy schedule now.”