With the World Cup set to kick off in just over two months, national team manager Ronald Koeman has largely finalised his squad for the Netherlands. Nevertheless, the friendly against Ecuador (1-1) has given him new insights, according to De Telegraaf.
For instance, Stefan de Vrij started on Tuesday at the Philips Stadium, but his performance failed to impress many spectators. The centre-back has spent much of this season on the bench at Inter, and this was evident in his play.
“It’s really time for the new generation; we have so many good centre-backs,” Steven Kooijman opens in the Kick-off podcast. “It’s been a good run. A brilliant player, very useful, but at his age… Just put some young guns in there.”
“De Vrij has never let Koeman down,” Mike Verweij chimes in with his colleague. “He’s always been there and he’s always performed well. Being dropped is naturally very painful, but there does come a time when a new generation takes over.”
“De Vrij has really been very important for the Dutch national team and Koeman values loyalty. I wouldn’t be surprised if he simply takes De Vrij to the World Cup,” says Verweij, who does, incidentally, agree that the 34-year-old defender didn’t perform well against Ecuador.
“If you saw him against Ecuador, especially in the first quarter of an hour… He’s partly to blame for Dumfries’ red card, because he lost a challenge he should have won. I thought De Vrij was very poor and I think that could well cost him his place,” Verweij said, looking ahead to the World Cup squad.
Whether or not De Vrij is selected will likely depend entirely on the fitness of his rivals for the position. Logically, Jurriën Timber will be the first choice, but he was absent during the last international break due to injury. Jan Paul van Hecke also has the edge, and the same seems to apply to Matthijs de Ligt, although he has been struggling with a long-term back injury.