The Netherlands’ delight with an emphatic 4-0 win over Iceland in their final warm-up match on Monday before heading to the Euro 2024 turned to despair when it was announced that playmaker Frenkie de Jong would not be going to the tournament in Germany.
De Jong has been battling to be fit in time after suffering several ankle injuries this season playing for Barcelona.
He tried training for the first time with his teammates on Sunday, after a week of individual work, but following examinations on Monday doctors said he would not be ready in time.
Photo: EPA-EFE
That put a damper on Dutch spirits despite the impressive scoreline at Feyenoord Stadium.
De Jong’s diagnosis was made public immediately after the game, but coach Ronald Koeman said he knew about it some four hours before kickoff and had told the players.
“Tests have shown that he cannot yet do what he should be able to do. He gets a reaction from his ankle every time after training,” Koeman told Dutch television.
“Then you have to conclude that he will not be 100 percent fit for the next three weeks. I already thought that playing against Poland [in the Group D opener] would be difficult,” he said.
De Jong posted a reaction on social media.
“I am sad and disappointed that I will not make it to the European Championship,” the 26-year-old said.
“We have done everything we can in recent weeks, but unfortunately my ankle needs more time. It is a dream and the greatest honor to represent your country at a final tournament, to wear the orange shirt, sing the national anthem and feel the support of the entire country,” he said.
“But now I, like the entire Orange legion, will cheer our team on from the sidelines. Let’s go boys,” he added.
Earlier, the Netherlands made sure of a good send-off in their last warm-up game as Xavi Simons finally scored for his country, in his 14th international, to put them 1-0 up at halftime.
Virgil van Dijk got on the score sheet for a second successive game, before Donyell Malen added the third.
Wout Weghorst netted the fourth on the stroke of fulltime as the Netherlands prepare to face Poland in Hamburg on Sunday, followed by France and Austria.
Bologna on Thursday advanced past Empoli to reach their first Coppa Italia final in more than half a century. Thijs Dallinga’s 87th-minute header earned Bologna a 2-1 win and his side advanced 5-1 on aggregate. Giovanni Fabbian opened the scoring for Bologna with a header seven minutes in. Then Viktor Kovalenko equalized for Empoli in the 30th minute by turning in a rebound to finish off a counterattack. Bologna won the first leg 3-0. In the May 14 final in Rome, Bologna are to face AC Milan, who eliminated city rivals Inter 4-1 on aggregate following a 3-0 win on Wednesday. Bologna last reached the
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
Noelvi Marte on Sunday had seven RBIs and hit his first career grand slam with a drive off infielder Jorge Mateo, while Austin Wynn had a career-high six RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds scored their most runs in 26 years in a 24-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. Marte finished with five hits, including his eighth-inning homer off Mateo. Wynn hit a three-run homer in the ninth off catcher Gary Sanchez. Cincinnati scored its most runs since a 24-12 win against the Colorado Rockies on May 19, 1999, and finished with 25 hits. Baltimore allowed its most runs since a 30-3 loss to