Peter Bosz believes the KNVB have missed a trick, as he made clear at the press conference after PSV - Shakhtar Donetsk (1-1). According to the 62-year-old coach, the football association should have done more to bring Mauro Júnior into the Netherlands national team setup, but it is now too late for that.
Mauro received his first call-up for the Brazil national team this week. "He is a left-back like few I know," national coach Carlo Ancelotti explained of his choice. "I would like to see him more closely, because he seems to me to have a very interesting profile."
Because of his long stay in the Netherlands, Mauro had already been eligible for the Netherlands national team since 2022. The versatile left-footer had also said on several occasions that he was open to that.
Yet although the diminutive Brazilian has grown over recent years into one of PSV's mainstays and won the league title four times, national coach Ronald Koeman or director of top-level football Nigel de Jong have never taken any action to sound him out for the Netherlands national team, De Telegraaf wrote.
For Bosz, that amounts to a missed opportunity for the KNVB, as he made clear on Thursday. "I think the KNVB have missed an opportunity. There are not many good left-backs," the PSV manager believes.
"And if you were to need him somewhere else in the tournament, he can play there too. I think the Netherlands could have made good use of him, but I think it is now too late for that," Bosz said.
During the last World Cup, Micky van de Ven played consistently as left-back for the Netherlands, but with Jorrel Hato, Ian Maatsen and potentially Nathan Aké, Xavi has more options.