“Doesn’t he deserve it anymore?”


Wednesday, March 8, 2023 at 9:05 AM• Wessel Antes • Last update: 09:10

Kees Kwakman would not have found it illogical if Bjorn Meijer had been part of the provisional selection of the Dutch national team. The nineteen-year-old from Groningen scored a great goal for Club Brugge on Tuesday evening at Benfica (5-1 defeat) and is busy with a strong season in Belgium. That awakens Football talk the question why Meijer is ‘only’ with the Dutch Juniors during the upcoming international match period.

Where Noa Lang was substituted at halftime at a 2-0 deficit, Meijer was allowed to stand for the full ninety minutes. Presenter Sinclair Bischop sums up the facts. “He is just back in it, also scores a goal, but has not been called up to those 37 players. He has a regular starting place and plays in the Champions League. Are you surprised he’s not among them?” Kwakman finds it difficult to make a hard judgment about Meijer. “We always have the feeling that players from the Eredivisie are made big compared to players abroad.”

Kwakman therefore thinks it is unfair to compare Meijer with a player like Quilindschy Hartman. “Of course it is also difficult for us, because we see Hartman playing in the Eredivisie every week. We don’t see Meijer, only occasionally in the Champions League. It remains difficult for us to say that he should actually be part of it.” Nevertheless, Kwakman would not find a call for Meijer strange. “Meijer has been a basic player all season, in the Champions League too. Then you would actually say: ‘Doesn’t he deserve it anymore?’ I don’t know, but you can assume that they scout everyone too.”

Meijer made the switch from FC Groningen to Club last winter for no less than six million euros. At the Pride of the North the left leg had only played 27 games in the main force, but Meijer adapts effortlessly in Belgium. The wing defender has already played 36 games for Club, in which he scored three goals and five assists. Meijer, who is committed to Bruges until mid-2026, will report to the Dutch Juniors for the coming international match period. In Pinatar, Spain, the Dutch youth internationals will compete against their peers from Norway and the Czech Republic.