Vincent Janssen (28) is no longer an international of Orange, the KNVB officially announced on Sunday. The Royal Antwerp attacker has indicated to national coach Ronald Koeman that he is no longer available for the Dutch national team due to ‘personal reasons in combination with the increasingly full football calendar’. Janssen was included by Koeman in the pre-selection for the European Championship qualifying matches with France (March 24) and Gibraltar (March 27).
Janssen responds to his decision to stop as an international via Instagram Stories. “This week I had to make a difficult decision,” the retired striker opens. “Yesterday (Saturday, ed.) I asked the national coach and the KNVB not to call me up for the Dutch national team in the future. They responded with understanding and I really appreciated that. People who know know that playing for my country was a dream and I still think it’s a great honor.” Janssen then explains why it ends for him as an international at a relatively young age.
?? After ???? games, ?? goals & ?? assists, @vincentjanssen stops his international career with the National team.
— OnsOranje (@OnsOranje) March 12, 2023
“The football calendar is getting fuller and busier. If I’m honest with myself, then I have to come to the conclusion that this has more and more impact. So for personal reasons I have made this well-considered decision. I have thought about it for a long time and expanded “I consulted with my wife, family and friends, and this decision feels like the only right one to me. My focus is now one hundred percent on Royal Antwerp FC and from now on I am and will remain a supporter of Orange.”
Janssen made his debut in the Dutch national team in 2016, in the 2-3 loss against France in the Johan Cruijff ArenA. Then national coach Danny Blind had the attacker come in in the 81st minute, replacing Luuk de Jong. Janssen played a total of 22 times for the Dutch national team and in those matches he found the net seven times. Most of his international matches date from 2016 and 2017. This was followed by a period of no less than six years without an international match on behalf of the Orange.
Louis van Gaal surprised by bringing Janssen back to the Orange in June 2022 for the four matches in the Nations League. The former national coach then decided to include the attacker, with a past at AZ and Tottenham Hotspur, among others, in the final selection for the World Cup in Qatar. Janssen only got playing time in the final round in the 2-0 group match with the host country. He then replaced Steven Bergwijn in the 66th minute of the World Cup meeting.
Luuk de Jong preceded him
The PSV striker announced more than a week ago that he is no longer available for the Orange squad. “It was always an honor for me to be part of the Dutch national team. But for me now feels like the right time to make this decision, because the Netherlands will start a new qualifying series for the European Championship this month. can fully focus on PSV in the coming years,” De Jong explained. The 32-year-old attacker came to a total of 39 international matches in the Orange shirt.
