Defender Jorrel Hato (Ajax) is making his debut for the Dutch national team. National coach Ronald Koeman nominated the 17-year-old Ajax player for the European Championship qualifiers against Ireland and Gibraltar.
Hato’s debut also came about because the Dutch team was unavailable for some key defenders. For example, Matthijs de Ligt (Bayern Munich) was shortlisted but was ruled out earlier this month after abandoning a cup match due to a tear in his right knee.
Micky van de Ven (Tottenham Hotspur) also has to miss this opportunity. The player, who has been struggling with a knee injury since the beginning of this week, will be away from the field for a long time. Sven Botman (Newcastle United) is still recovering from the knee injury that has kept him out since the end of September.
Schouten returns to the Dutch team
Koeman also nominated Jerdy Schouten (PSV) as his final selection for the Dutch team for the European Championship qualifiers against Ireland and Gibraltar. The 24-year-old midfielder played his only national match in June 2022.
Schouten is having a strong season at Premier League leader PSV. He came from Bologna, Italy, in the summer and is a regular at Eindhoven.
Cody Gakpo (Liverpool) and Teun Koopmeiners (Atalanta) were also included in the final selection. At that time, they could not take part in the preliminary round because they had just returned from injury.
For sporting reasons, left-back Ian Maatsen (Chelsea) and goalkeeper Nick Olij (Sparta Rotterdam) were excluded from the 23-man final selection. Brian Brobbey (Ajax) is one of them. Earlier this week, Koeman criticized the 21-year-old striker. The national coach was surprised, among other things, by the big opportunities Brobbey regularly missed.
“We had him there in the last international game and you can see that his initial assumption and the way he finished was not good,” Koeman said on the Rondo television program on Ziggo Sport.
Frenkie de Jong (FC Barcelona) is still waiting for his club to return after spraining his ankle in a competitive match at the end of September. However, he has now started training again. Memphis Depay (Atlético Madrid) has also not taken any action yet after suffering a muscle injury during training.
The Dutch team will face Ireland at the Johan Cruijff Arena on 18 November. The away match against Gibraltar will be played three days later, on 21 November. One win is enough for the Dutch team to qualify directly for the European Championship to be held in Germany next year.
Both matches will start at 20.45. The international match will be played in Portugal due to the renovation of Gibraltar’s national (and only) stadium.
Source: NOS
I’m George Gonzalez, a professional journalist and author at The Nation View. With more than 5 years of experience in the field, I specialize in covering sports news for various print media outlets. My passion for writing has enabled me to craft stories that capture the attention of readers all over the world.
