Correct. Schouten, Xavi and De Ligt were already ruled out due to injuries. Looks like Kluivert (will he be playing today to ruin Man City’s title hope?) and Memphis are given generous time to prove their fitness. I think both will make it to the final squad…
I don't like giving this option of generous time for player to come to the world cup just recovering from injury. The risk of re-injury is high. Of course they will be missed but it is better to take other fit players. There are only a few players worth doing this for (even sitting out some group games if necessary) but Kluivert and Memphis are not those players. JMHO. Let's wait for May 25th announcement.
Yep - too risky indeed. That said, I think Koeman is running out of reliable options in the AM and ST positions, hence the stubbornness to include Kluivert and Memphis. FWIW, allegedly Emegha and Meerdink are in the preliminary squad. Both also just came back from a long injury layoff. Be prepared to see a lot of Weghorst in the W.C, gulp
Use Brobbey or Malen or Gakpo in the middle (with Frimpong, Malen, Gakpo, Lang and Summerville on the wings or Maatsen if called up). Weghorst is a pinch hitter for the last 10 min of the game. If Weghorst starts, there is very little hope.
Weghorst should still be nowhere near this team even with all of these injuries and unknowns at this point. He’s been awful this season. I would think Guus Til should be selected as a pinch hitter type role as his movement and work ethic are so much better.
Malen is the only option for central striker that makes sense given his recent form. Brobbey rarely scores these days (he did last weekend, his previous goal before that was 2 months ago ). Gakpo is not effective in the center, he’s best utilized in the wing and cut inside. I think the challenge with Malen playing as ST is that Koeman will then need to find a capable RW. Not a clear cut solution… I guess Frimpong if I had to choose. Maybe Summerville can surprise though he hasn’t even been capped yet.
Pep going to the Orange Squad has been rumoured already in WC 2022. Iirc I mentioned that Ronald joked about he or him being the assistent coach.
Uhm, ...he was very supportive to the Catalan cause.....like JC was... Dunno if Spain wants their flagship being run by a separatist.
I watched Weghorst missing chance after chance against FC Groningen. Til might have had a hattrick with those chances at the break
Latest update indicated that Timber might have a chance to play in the UCL final on the 30th.. I‘ll take that as good news! If he’s able to play next week, that means he will (should) be fit enough for the World Cup. De Vrij OTOH is now in danger of missing the WC after forced off the field this weekend. No words on the severity of his injury yet. Without both of them, the back up for RCD would almost be certain Geertruida. He’s also a decent cover for RB, and can be an emergency DM.
Memphis made a comeback yesterday, and played after 2 months out. Kluivert subbed in again from the bench this weekend. Both are racing against the clock to prove their fitness! I think both (and J. Timber) will make it to the final squad barring any setbacks — they are too “regular” to be left out. OTOH, Emegha is not included in the invite list to the training camp that starts today… as expected as he’s still struggling with injuries.
I think Sepp Van Den Berg plays better this EPL season than Geertruida (hence deserve the spot for RCB). For Memphis and Kluivert, the risk of re-injured again is high. I will miss Timber more than these 2 players and really hope that Timber can make it. With the talented midfields and forwards that this team has (even without a good striker as in the past) if they cannot win without Memphis and Kluivert then it will be sad.
Van Den Berg & Beukema are better options than Geertruida and De Vrij. Wieffer is better than Geertruida also. No Memphis or Kluivert should not be that important.
5490 German economist sticks to striking prediction: Dutch world champion Today at 14:44 Update: Today at 16:12 2min 114Comments A German economist who correctly predicted the past three world champions sticks to his striking prediction for the 2026 World Cup: Orange will become world champions. Joachim Klement, who works as a strategist at a British investment bank, previously correctly removed the world titles of Germany (2014), France (2018) and Argentina (2022) from his model. With that, the German slowly gained the status of a football oracle, although he himself has little to do with that reputation. "This actually started as an exercise to show the arrogance of economists, who think they can predict things that they don't really know anything about," Klement told the BBC. 'And now it has turned into an experiment where people will call you a guru if you are often enough lucky'. His model takes into account factors such as population size, prosperity, climate and the FIFA ranking. 'The other fifty percent is happiness. Especially when top countries of a similar level face each other, it depends on the form of the day, a decision by the referee or simply a ball on the post or in it.' According to Klement's prediction, the Dutch will survive a group with Japan, Sweden and Tunisia, after which Morocco and Canada will be eliminated. In the quarterfinals, France would fall via an own goal, after which the Netherlands defeated Spain on penalties in the semi-finals. In the final, Portugal awaits. Klement himself remains cautious, despite his perfect score so far. 'Because I was right three times in a row, people now think that this model is unbeatable and that I will automatically get it right again. I have colleagues who bet money on the Netherlands after I published my prediction,' says Klement. 'And if the Netherlands is eliminated early, I think I'd better work from home the next day.' He goes out to prove economists can't predict things and then got it right 3 times in a row Of course we're the perfect candidates to prove he's right after all
Now just go and win that World Cup (unless FIFA wants Ronaldo to win after Messi's turn...). 3 goalkeepers, 7 defenders, 8 midfielders and 8 forwards. Wieffer can play as defensive midfield or right centre back or right back. I don't follow de Roon but Koeman thinks that he needs a 35 years old destroyer in midfield. Let's hope no injury during the tournament as I think the defenders a bit thin in the back and let's see if all will be fit or there will be replacement in the last minute if someone cannot recover/fully fit.
Not sure if Frimpong is on standby. From ESPN: Lutsharel Geertruida and Ian Maatsen are on standby in case of injury. Netherlands squad for World Cup Goalkeepers: Mark Flekken (Bayer Leverkusen), Robin Roefs (Sunderland), Bart Verbruggen (Brighton) Defenders: Nathan Aké (Manchester City), Denzel Dumfries (Inter Milan), Jorrel Hato (Chelsea), Jurriën Timber (Arsenal), Jan Paul van Hecke (Brighton), Micky van de Ven (Tottenham), Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool) Midfielders: Frenkie de Jong (Barcelona), Marten de Roon (Atalanta), Ryan Gravenberch (Liverpool), Teun Koopmeiners (Juventus), Tijjani Reijnders (Manchester City), Guus Til (PSV), Quinten Timber (Marseille), Mats Wieffer (Brighton) Forwards: Brian Brobbey (Sunderland), Memphis Depay (Corinthians), Cody Gakpo (Liverpool), Justin Kluivert (Bournemouth), Noa Lang (Galatasaray), Donyell Malen (Roma), Crysencio Summerville (West Ham), Wout Weghorst (Ajax)
Aging Marten de Roon over exciting young talent Valente or Smit… wow! Speechless Wieffer over Frimpong or Geertruida for the right back position… weird choice.
Oh dear Netherlands squad for World Cup Goalkeepers: Mark Flekken (Bayer Leverkusen), Robin Roefs (Sunderland), Bart Verbruggen (Brighton) Defenders: Nathan Aké (Manchester City), Denzel Dumfries (Inter Milan), Jorrel Hato (Chelsea), Jurriën Timber (Arsenal), Jan Paul van Hecke (Brighton), Micky van de Ven (Tottenham), Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool) Midfielders: Frenkie de Jong (Barcelona), Marten de Roon (Atalanta), Ryan Gravenberch (Liverpool), Teun Koopmeiners (Juventus), Tijjani Reijnders (Manchester City), Guus Til (PSV), Quinten Timber (Marseille), Mats Wieffer (Brighton) Forwards: Brian Brobbey (Sunderland), Memphis Depay (Corinthians), Cody Gakpo (Liverpool), Justin Kluivert (Bournemouth), Noa Lang (Galatasaray), Donyell Malen (Roma), Crysencio Summerville (West Ham), Wout Weghorst (Ajax)
5795 We're going to face weather like harsh conditions, which will be demanding for very fit players. Yet Koeman puts in the selection players, who just recently came back on the pitch and is going to use them as locked in players. So these players obviously arenot conditionally in great shape, but the Cowman expects them to withstand the humid, hot conditions that are a challenge already for the fit players. Seven matches, if a final is being accomplished, in a short time under very hard conditions... with questionable fitess levels of key players... Right... What could possibly go wrong...
5979 If Koeman sticks to his unsuccessful way of using Malen, as a winger instead of striker, we might as well left Malen at home. I also read some pundits writing Depay now got real competition from Malen and Brobbey.... Right, "don't score Brobbey" is the contender. I remember those pundits writing about BB epic battle with iirc Germany's defender Tah. According to them he gave Tah a fight and made life difficult for him In that match Brobbey managed to get the ball ONCE in the box and it was Brobbey who made life difficult for Tah?????????? It's the fokking job of BB to get in the box and score, not socalled make life difficult aka as being neutralized by Tah.
No Weghorst, but Summerville to the World Cup: this is the ideal Orange selection of our readers AD Sportwereld readers favorite selection: In the run-up to the announcement of national coach Ronald Koeman (Wednesday afternoon), our readers were allowed to choose their ideal selection, consisting of 3 goalkeepers, 9 defenders, 7 midfielders and 7 attackers. These were the names our readers chose. According to our readers, Wout Weghorst does not deserve a place in the Orange selection for the upcoming World Cup. And Luciano Valente is narrowly preferred to Kees Smit. Almost 24,000 'national coaches', readers of this site, filled that in when putting together their ideal group. The goalkeepers There was little doubt about Bart Verbruggen and Robin Roefs: they received the majority of the votes and, according to our readers, can pack their bags for a trip to the United States. As third goalkeeper, the choice falls on Mark Flekken. He is narrowly preferred to Justin Bijlow. The defenders Denzel Dumfries, Virgil van Dijk, Micky van de Ven, Jurriën Timber, Jan Paul van Hecke, Jeremie Frimpong and Nathan Aké are certainties in the selection for our readers. Stefan de Vrij gets a few fewer votes, but he also makes it to the group. For the last place, it is exciting between Jorrel Hato and Lutsharel Geertruida. The former is narrowly preferred. The midfielders Of course, our readers also take the regulars with them in midfield: Tijjani Reijnders, Frenkie de Jong, Ryan Gravenberch and Teun Koopmeiners get more than enough votes. Quinten Timber and Justin Kluivert have also proven themselves, according to our readers. Luciano Valente trumps Kees Smit for the last place. It should be noted that Jerdy Schouten was removed from the options during voting due to his injury. This may affect the relatively low number of votes for, for example, Marten de Roon and Mats Wieffer. Our readers also think that Joey Veerman should not go to the World Cup: twelve midfielders received more votes than the PSV strongman. The attackers Cody Gakpo and Donyell Malen are taken to the World Cup by all readers. Brian Brobbey and Memphis Depay are also popular. Our readers also think that Crysencio Summerville has shown himself sufficiently at West Ham United for an election. Noa Lang also makes the selection. Our readers think that Emmanuel Emegha should be preferred to Wout Weghorst for the last place. However, the Strasbourg striker has been struggling with an injury in recent weeks and does not seem to make the selection.