Steven Berghuis will have to miss the upcoming international match. The Ajax player is still too bothered by an injury to play against France (October 13) and Greece (October 16). National coach Ronald Koeman has called up Ian Maatsen as a replacement.
Berghuis was already not fit enough to play against AZ (1-2 loss) and now has to miss both European Championship qualifying matches. It is yet another injury case for Koeman. Frenkie de Jong, Cody Gakpo, Noa Lang, Memphis Depay, Justin Bijlow, Matthijs de Ligt and Mark Fleken have already withdrawn injured. Lang and Fleks only joined the infirmary late on Sunday evening.
Because of the latter duo, Koeman decided to bring Andries Noppert and Calvin Stengs to the group. Maatsen is now the next to join. The Chelsea back, who also played as a left winger, normally had to report to the Dutch Juniors. He has yet to make his debut for the Dutch team.
Question marks among Koopmeiners
There is also a question mark behind Teun Koopmeiners’ name. The Atalanta midfielder did not come out of the match against Lazio (3-2) completely clean, but will report to Zeist on Monday. An investigation must determine whether he can take action against France and/or Greece.
It seems to be a puzzle for Koeman, especially in midfield. If Koopmeiners is also missing, the coach only has Tijjani Reijnders, Marten de Roon, Xavi Simons, Mats Wieffer and Joey Veerman to choose from. Simons also often plays as a left winger. Maatsen could therefore also fill that position.
The 24-person selection will gather in Zeist on Monday. On Friday, October 13, the Dutch team will meet leaders of the qualifying group France in a sold-out Johan Cruijff ArenA in Amsterdam.
The match against Greece is scheduled for Monday, October 16, which will be played in the OPAP Arena in Athens. Both matches start at 8:45 PM (Dutch time).