After Ron Vlaar and Jordy Clasie pulled out of Netherlands squad for the upcoming matches with Italy and Czech Republic, Celtic defender Virgil van Dijk has earned his first call up.
- By Michael Bell
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Van Dijk has been impressive for Celtic ever since joining from Groningen last summer, but the centre back was ignored by former Netherlands coach Louis van Gaal. However Aston Villa defender Ron Vlaar has been forced to pull out of the squad, meaning Guus Hiddink has turned to the 23-year-old to fill the gap in the squad.
After suffering an injury in the 0-0 draw with Twente, Feyenoord midfielder Jordy Clasie has also been ruled out for Netherlands, and PSG right back Gregory van der Wiel has been added to the squad.
Klaas jan Huntelaar, Arjen Robben, and Rafael van der Vaart all pulled out of the squad on Sunday with PSV winger Luciano Narsingh added to the attack.
Netherlands face Italy, in Guus Hiddink’s first game in charge, on Friday before beginning their 2016 European Championship qualifying campaign in the Czech Republic on the 9th of September.
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