Justin Bijlow will defend the Orange’s goal in the semi-final of the Nations League against Croatia on Wednesday. The Feyenoord keeper is therefore preferred to Andries Noppert from sc Heerenveen and Mark Flek from SC Freiburg.
Koeman confirmed during Tuesday’s press conference in De Kuip that the choice fell on Bijlow. “I wasn’t sure if I should say it, but the keepers already know. I can announce one name in the line-up and that is Bijlow.”
NEC closing post Jasper Cillessen, who played during the European Championship preliminary round matches in March, was not part of the final selection. Cillessen has been out of shape in recent months.
The 25-year-old Bijlow won the national title with Feyenoord last season. The Rotterdammer has played six international matches so far, all in 2021. At the time, he was preferred by Louis van Gaal.
Partly due to injuries, Bijlow then lost his place in the Orange squad. Van Gaal chose Noppert during the World Cup in Qatar, who recently made his comeback at sc Heerenveen after an injury. Bijlow was in the selection then, just like Remko Pasveer.
In March Bijlow was absent from the Orange squad due to a wrist injury, but against Croatia the Feyenoord keeper is celebrating his comeback in the national team after two years. Koeman did not want to say whether he will change when it comes to a penalty shootout.
Ontvang meldingen bij belangrijke ontwikkelingen rondom Oranje
Aké can start in De Kuip
Koeman did not want to reveal any names from his starting line-up, but did say that he has a fit selection. “We had good training days. I am optimistic,” said the national coach at a press conference in De Kuip on Tuesday.
Nathan Aké just seems to start, after he only reported to the Orange training camp late on Monday evening and trained for the first time on Tuesday morning. The Manchester City defender was honored in England on Monday afternoon for winning the Champions League.
Aké may take the place of Matthijs de Ligt, who has dropped out injured, in the center of the back. It is also possible that Koeman opts for Jurriën Timber, Lutsharel Geertuida or Sven Botman and that Aké is left back. Denzel Dumfries, who lost the Champions League final with Internazionale, already trained on Monday and is also ready to start against Croatia.
The semi-final between the Netherlands and Croatia starts on Wednesday at 8.45 pm, will be played in De Kuip and will be led by the Romanian referee Istvan Kovacs. Spain and Italy compete for the other final ticket. That semi-final battle is Thursday in De Grolsch Veste in Enschede.
Four years ago, the Dutch, also led by Koeman, reached the final of the Nations League. In it, host country Portugal was 1-0 too strong due to a goal from Gonçalo Guedes.
Programma Nations League
- 14 juni 20.45 uur (De Kuip): Nederland-Kroatië
- 15 juni 20.45 uur (Grolsch Veste): Spanje-Italië
- 18 juni 15.00 uur (Grosch Veste): Troostfinale
- 18 juni 20.45 uur (De Kuip): Finale
2023-06-13 13:10:44
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