Dutch core De Jong missed the European Championship due to injury
6/11/2024 4:33:13 PM
In the last warm-up match before the European Championship, the Netherlands defeated Iceland 4-0 at home, replicating the score they had against Canada four days ago. With two consecutive wins in warm-up matches, the Netherlands team rushed to the European Championship stage, but the injury of their core De Jong made the Orange Army unable to laugh.
Before the start of the European Cup, the strong teams generally seek out "weaker teams" to warm up. Some strong teams have achieved several victories or even major victories as they wish, but it is also common for them to be unpopular. For example, in this game, the Dutch team lost to Iceland and defeated England 1-0 three days ago. France also failed to win Canada. Italy drew with Türkiye. Germany and Ukraine had a goalless exchange. Portugal chose Croatia, a powerful country, to warm up. The result was a 1-2 defeat. Counting around, among the top teams, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Spain are the ones who have won two consecutive European Cups.
In this game, the most valuable player in the Dutch team, Xavi Simmons, scored his debut goal for the national team in the first half. In the second half, Van Dyck's header widened the score, and Maren's substitute pass allowed Wehorst to score. In the end, the Netherlands defeated Iceland 4-0 and won two consecutive friendly matches, scoring 8 goals without conceding any goals. They will face Poland in the first round of the European Cup group stage.
However, the victory of the warm-up cannot offset the blow of De Jong's failure to qualify for the European Championship due to injury. On June 11th, according to the official news of the Dutch national team, De Jong will be absent from this summer's European Championship due to his ankle injury and inability to recover in time.
Netherlands warm-up victory
Dutch national team coach Koeman talked about De Jong and said, "De Jong has been constantly reacting during training, and the examination results show that he will not be able to fully recover in the next three weeks. De Jong has had a history of such injuries, so we must consider his health. His club has decided to take risks, which is the price we have to bear." De Jong has suffered three right ankle injuries in the past season, which is also his least playing season since joining Barcelona. Last week, he expressed in an interview that he is willing to take some risks to participate in the European Championship. De Rong wrote on social media, "I am saddened and disappointed that I did not make it to the European Championship. We have made every effort in the past few weeks, but unfortunately, my ankle still needs more time to recover."
It is widely believed that De Jong's injury and retirement will have a significant impact on the Dutch team. At the European Championship, Dutch coach Koeman tends to adopt a double back midfield layout, and 27 year old De Jong was originally a key player in the team. After his withdrawal, Koeman is expected to rely more on PSV Eindhoven's two stars, Hauteng and Joey Firman, with only 15 appearances for the national team combined. Originally, the preferred option was for Stefano to partner with De Jong, but it is gratifying to note that Ferman, who is likely to be in the upper echelons, is currently in good form and even instigated Simmons to score the opening goal in the match against Iceland.