Matthijs de Ligt will miss the final round of the Nations League with the Orange. Bayern Munich’s 23-year-old defender of Bayern Munich has sustained an injury. He is the next Dutch man after Memphis Depay to withdraw.
De Ligt misses the Nations League final round with the Orange
De Ligt was already missing from training on Sunday after suffering a calf injury during Saturday’s practice session. It now appears that the 41-time international cannot be used on Wednesday during the semi-final against Croatia. Sunday’s final or consolation final also comes too early for the central defender.
It is a setback for national coach Ronald Koeman, who De Ligt had to miss during the start of the European Championship qualification against France (4-0 defeat) due to a stomach virus. The former Ajax and Juventus player then made his comeback in the starting line-up against Gibraltar.
The KNVB reports that Daley Blind will be added to the selection for the final round of the Nations League after the loss of De Ligt, as soon as UEFA has approved that change. The 33-year-old defender of Bayern was on the standby list, just like AZ midfielder Tijjani Reijnders.
Frenkie de Jong: “Nations League consolation final is not worth waiting”
Two more international matches with the Dutch national team and then Frenkie de Jong will have a holiday. That is not a superfluous luxury with the crowded playing calendar, says the Orange international in the run-up to the semi-final of the Nations League against Croatia.
The season in La Liga ended for De Jong last Sunday, after Barcelona had been certain of the national title for several weeks. However, immediately after the last league game with Celta de Vigo, the selection of the champions of Spain got on a plane to Japan for an exhibition game with Andrés Iniesta’s Vissel Kobe. “I would rather not do that after a long season, but these kinds of trips are financially interesting for the club,” says De Jong. “So you go.”
“But it is clear that the calendar is full,” continues the 26-year-old midfielder, who played 43 official matches for Barcelona this season despite an injury and also played six international matches. He added, “This summer I finally have a few weeks of uninterrupted vacation again. We first had the aftermath of corona, in which many matches were crammed together. Then a season with a World Cup in the middle. So it’s nice to relax later.”
“Due to the new structure of the Champions League, a few more matches will be added from next year. This is of course done to earn even more money from the TV rights. They do it purely for the money, not for the football itself,” says De Jong. “If you look at the Nations League, a game for third place is not necessary. No one is waiting for that. But the semi-finals and hopefully the final are of course great fun.”
