Koeman calls up two replacements for De Jong and Bergwijn who dropped out


Monday, March 20, 2023 at 3:26 PM• Guy Habets • Last update: 15:52

Frenkie de Jong cannot take action for the next two weeks. The KNVB confirms this after reporting from The Telegraph. The midfielder of Barcelona was slightly injured during El Clásico against Real Madrid (2-1 for the Catalans) and has to rest for a while. That means that De Jong will have to skip the upcoming European Championship qualifiers for the the Dutch squad.

Barcelona won the titanic battle against Real and thus took a big step towards the national title in Spain. However, De Jong did not come out of the battle unscathed and had an MRI scan of his thigh made to be sure. It turned out that the playmaker from Arkel had to rest for two weeks, which means that the international matches of the Dutch national team against France and Gibraltar will come too early. A press release from the KNVB shows that Koeman has chosen Joey Veerman from PSV as a replacement.

A replacement is also called up for Steven Bergwijn, who also dropped out. The attacker sustained a knee injury during the 2-3 Lost Classic against Feyenoord and will rest in the coming international period. Donyell Malen will take over Bergwijn’s place in the selection and that is striking, because the Borussia Dortmund attacker was not in the pre-selection. Noa Lang was part of that group of players, but is now passed.

The Netherlands opens the European Championship qualifying cycle with an away match against France on March 24. Three days later, Gibraltar visits De Kuip. In a group that also includes Ireland and Greece, the the Dutch must finish in the top two to qualify directly for the European Championship in 2024. Finishing third means that play-offs must be played to be able to reach the final tournament in Germany. to fetch. In June, the Dutch national team will also play in the final tournament of the Nations League.


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