Sep 22, 2023 at 1:06 PM Update: 38 minutes ago
Ronald Koeman included Nick Olij in his pre-selection for the Dutch national team on Friday. It is the first time that the Sparta Rotterdam goalkeeper has been on that list. Jeremie Frimpong also has a place in the pre-selection for the European Championship qualifiers in October.
Olij excelled at Sparta last season and is also a permanent fixture for the Rotterdam team this season. The 28-year-old Haarlemmer is one of the four goalkeepers in the pre-selection, alongside Bart Verbruggen, Andries Noppert and Mark Fleks.
The place in the pre-selection is a nice reward for Olij, who played goalkeeper for three seasons at NAC Breda in the Kitchen Champion Division before his period at Het Kasteel. Before that, the goalkeeper was under contract with AZ and TOP Oss.
For Frimpong it means a return to the provisional list. The Bayer Leverkusen defender was absent from the previous international match due to a penalty from the association. He had received that punishment because he had refused to go to the European Championship with the Dutch Juniors.
Despite his punishment, Frimpong was determined to go for his chance with the Netherlands, while he can also choose Ghana or England. Then-national coach Louis van Gaal already took the wing defender to the World Cup, but he does not yet have an international match to his name.
Maatsen, Bijlow and Memphis are not on the list
The injured Justin Bijlow and Memphis Depay are not on the provisional list. They can nevertheless still be called up. National coach Koeman does not only have to draw from his pre-selection for his final selection.
Compared to the recent international match, in which the Dutch team took a big step towards the European Championship with victories over Greece and Ireland, Ian Maatsen is not there. The wing defender did not play in either match and has hardly played for Chelsea.
The final selection will be announced on October 6. The Netherlands will play a home match in the Johan Cruijff ArenA against France in the European Championship qualification on October 13. The away match against Greece is scheduled for three days later.
Preselection Orange:
Keepers: Mark Fleken (Brentford), Andries Noppert (sc Heerenveen), Nick Olij (Sparta Rotterdam) and Bart Verbruggen (Brighton & Hove Albion).
Defenders: Nathan Aké (Manchester City), Daley Blind (Girona FC), Sven Botman (Newcastle United), Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool), Denzel Dumfries (Inter), Jeremie Frimpong (Bayer 04 Leverkusen), Lutsharel Geertruida (Feyenoord), Quilindschy Hartman (Feyenoord), Matthijs de Ligt (Bayern Munich), Micky van de Ven (Tottenham Hotspur) and Stefan de Vrij (Inter).
Midfielders: Frenkie de Jong (FC Barcelona), Teun Koopmeiners (Atalanta), Tijjani Reijnders (AC Milan), Marten de Roon (Atalanta), Xavi Simons (RB Leipzig), Joey Veerman (PSV) and Mats Wieffer (Feyenoord).
Attackers: Steven Berghuis (Ajax), Steven Bergwijn (Ajax), Brian Brobbey (Ajax), Cody Gakpo (Liverpool), Noa Lang (PSV), Donyell Malen (Borussia Dortmund) and Wout Weghorst (TSG Hoffenheim).
Beeld: Pro Shots/Getty Images
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OranjeRonald KoemanFootballJeremie Frimpong
2023-09-22 12:20:56
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