Jerdy Schouten has suffered a serious cruciate ligament injury whilst playing for PSV and will therefore miss the World Cup. Frenkie de Jong is also struggling with injuries, prompting Wim Kieft to ask whether Joey Veerman might be back in contention for national team manager Ronald Koeman.
“Just imagine if Frenkie de Jong gets injured again, which isn’t at all unlikely. Then Koeman might have to call on Veerman after all… That he might say: ‘I’ve given it some more thought’,” said Kieft, who then burst out laughing at his own remark.
Presenter Michel van Egmond wonders whether, in that case, a certain sense of pride might come into play for Koeman, who has made it clear that Veerman is not part of his World Cup plans. “I’d rather play with ten men than select him again.”
“You can’t go back, of course. You’d lose all credibility,” says Kieft, almost certain that Koeman won’t be calling on Veerman again. “And you’ve still got Quinten Timber, Luciano Valente, Kees Smit.”
Veerman (27) has made sixteen international appearances for the Netherlands. However, his last match dates back to 10 July 2024, when the PSV player featured for 55 minutes in the 1-2 defeat to England in the European Championship semi-final. Since then, Koeman has shown no interest in the midfielder.
The national coach recently stated that Veerman is not his first or even his second choice for the left ‘six’ position and indicated that, with a fit squad, he stands no chance of making the World Cup squad.
When asked what Veerman thought upon hearing those words, a strikingly brief reply followed after the PSV v FC Utrecht match (4-3). “Nothing.” When pressed further by ESPN, he stuck to his guns. “I didn’t think anything at all.” When it was suggested that his mind must have been blank, he agreed. Veerman was then asked why he didn’t want to say anything about it: “I don’t feel like it.”