Netherlands boss Ronald Koeman gave his press conference on Monday ahead of the double header against Spain.
- Follow Football-Oranje on X
Koeman named Youri Baas and Mats Wieffer as replacements for the injured Denzel Dumfries and Jerdy Schouten earlier on Monday before facing the press.
According to AD, he said on why he chose Baas, “We needed a left-footed player due to the many injuries. He is doing great at Ajax. For Dumfries’ position we have Timber, Geertruida and Frimpong.”
A lot of people wanted Feyenoord’s 18-year-old right-back Givairo Read to earn his first call up but Koeman does not consider him to be an option, “The name of Givairo Read has not crossed my mind. We are currently looking at other players. He is a young talent, so he is not yet ready for the Dutch national team.”
Koeman confirmed that Frenkie de Jong will be fit for the two games, while he has no reservations about starting Memphis Depay, “I don’t foresee any problems if I want to start with Memphis Depay. I was convinced after my conversation with him, after seeing him play and after seeing the physical data at the club.”
He continued, “I also had contact with him when he made this choice. Then you follow him and you get a certain feeling. But you only really get that feeling when you see him play. That is why I am convinced that he can still be of great value to this team.”
Steven Bergwijn has been in good form in Saudi Arabia, but Koeman doesn’t see him as an option, “No. He has to wait for the next national coach.”
Koeman continued and stated that Bergwijn had to call him first before he could come back into the picture.
Jordy Clasie is also not an option for Koeman now, “Clasie is also no longer available for a final tournament. I have called him quite a lot and have had many conversations with him, but he has made the choice to no longer be available.”
Looking ahead to Spain, Koeman fancies his side’s chances, “It is a challenge. But I have the feeling that we can measure ourselves, yes. Based on what? Based on football. Nothing is predictable.
‘The favorite doesn’t always win. We also have good players, also in this selection. But indeed, when you win there are more people who expected otherwise. We’re going to do the maximum to get a result. We’re going to give it our all in the first match, we’ll see about the second.”
Follow
Follow @Footballoranje_ on Twitter
