The Netherlands lost a series of pillars before playing against France
* France - Netherlands: 2:45 am on March 25, Hanoi time.
On March 23, the Dutch Football Federation (KNVB) announced that goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen of Anderlecht, defender Sven Botman of Newcastle, De Ligt of Bayern, midfielder Joey Vermeen of PSV and striker Gakpo of Liverpool have all been approved by coach Ronald Koeman. Leaving the team due to a virus infection. The KNVB did not announce what virus these five players had or what symptoms they had.
The incident affected the Netherlands' preparations for the opening two matches of Group B of Euro 2024 qualifying against France at the Stade de France on March 24 and Gibraltar in Rotterdam on March 27. In particular, Botman, Vermeen and Verbruggen are expected to debut in this gathering, while Gakpo and De Ligt are the mainstays of the team.
Earlier, the Netherlands parted ways with Barca midfielder Frenkie de Jong and Ajax winger Steven Bergwijn. Koeman confirmed De Jong suffered pain in his thigh after the El Clasico game over the weekend and was replaced by Joey Veerman, while Bergwijn suffered a knee injury that had to make way for Donyell Malen.
Koeman also called up Vitesse goalkeeper Kjell Scherpen, Inter defender Stefan de Vrij and Bayern midfielder Ryan Gravenberch for the match against France. Gravenberch and Scherpen - who are gathering with the Under-21 team in Spain, and De Vrij will join the team in Paris, bringing the number of players under Koeman to 23.
The KNVB further announced that the Dutch squad will be reevaluated after the game, with the possibility of adding players or recalling those who have just left the team to return, should they recover well.
The Netherlands welcomes the return of Georginio Wijnaldum - midfielder who wears the captain's armband at Euro 2021 but has broken the right tibia since August 2022 and missed the World Cup in Qatar. Sharing with NOS, the midfielder criticized coach Louis van Gaal when saying "I have more sympathy for Koeman than for him". Wijnaldum recalled Koeman trying to bring him to Barca when leaving Liverpool on a free form in the summer of 2021.
The 32-year-old midfielder also praised Jose Mourinho, who convinced him to join Roma on loan this season. "I feel that Roma wants me very much, and Mourinho wants me to play under him. The whole team is satisfied, and I feel the same when I come back from injury," Wijnaldum said, emphasizing " willing and eager" to continue to contribute to the team, after missing the 2022 World Cup.
The match against France today is Koeman's first official match since returning to lead the Netherlands. He used to lead the Netherlands in the period 2018-2020, before accepting the job for Barca. He would have led the orange team to the Euro if the tournament had not been postponed for a year, from the summer of 2020 to the summer of 2021, due to Covid-19.
The Netherlands is led by Van Gaal, alternating between Koeman's two terms. He helped the national team attend the 2022 World Cup, but stopped in the quarterfinals when Argentina on the penalty shootout.
