Ronald Koeman has explained Frenkie de Jong's withdrawal from EURO 2024. The FC Barcelona midfielder will not have recovered from his ankle injury in the next three weeks, which is why it has been decided not to take De Jong to the European Championship in Germany. After the match against Iceland (4-0 win), Koeman provides explanations.

“I've known about it since four o'clock this afternoon, half past four,” Koeman said after the match NOS. A day earlier, Koeman still sounded hopeful. “But we didn't play a game (with the media, ed.) or make it more positive than it was.”

Koeman's requirement for De Jong to travel was that the midfielder should at least be able to play during the group phase. “Tests have shown that it is not working yet. He gets a response every time from the training he does. Then you find that he is not 100 percent fit to play at this level even for the next three weeks. Then you can keeping him there, but that makes no sense.”

“I wanted to be sure that Frenkie can play towards the last group match. That was already in my head: Poland will have a very short day, but maybe partly against France and then fit for the last match. But that is just not the case.”

Koeman lashes out at his former employer FC Barcelona, ​​where he also worked with De Jong. According to Koeman, Barça acted reprehensibly last season.

“We also have to look at the player's health. The player has an injury history. The club there has taken that risk with him and we are left with a bad deal with Frenkie de Jong.”

To make matters worse, the Dutch team also lost Teun Koopmeiners. In the warm-up of the match against Iceland, the Atalanta midfielder suffered a groin injury. “Dramatic, because if there is one boy who deserves to excel within the Dutch national team, it is Teun, because he is having a great season. And then the first ball he scores during the warm-up…”

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