Dutch drop Wijnaldum from squad for June internationals

AMSTERDAM : Georginio Wijnaldum has been dropped from the Netherlands squad due to a lack of playing time with his club Paris St Germain, jeopardising his chances of going to the World Cup having featured prominently in the qualifiers.

The 31-year-old midfielder was the notable omission from a 30-man preliminary squad named by coach Louis van Gaal for the four Nations League matches the Dutch will play next month.

The Dutch traditionally name a preliminary squad ahead of international matches and then finalise it later, usually trimming down the numbers, but sometimes adding in new players.

The 31-year-old Wijnaldum skippered the Netherlands in the absence of Virgil van Dijk, when he was out with a knee injury, and last year scored five goals in 15 international appearances as the Dutch topped their World Cup qualifying group to book their spot at the tournament in Qatar.

But at club level he has started only half of PSG’s league games this season after moving from Liverpool before the start of the campaign.

“Since our last two internationals in March, Gigi’s situation at his club has unfortunately not changed much. I am therefore forced to make other choices, however difficult and painful I personally find it to do so,” said Van Gaal in a statement released by the Dutch football association (KNVB).

Van Gaal has frequently insisted players compete at club level if they are to be selected for the national team.

The Netherlands are away to Belgium (June 3) and Wales (June 8) before home games against Poland (June 11) and Wales again on June 14.

Van Gaal named Mexico-based striker Vincent Janssen, 27, in a surprise selection. The former Tottenham Hotspur forward, who now plays Monterrey, last played for the Netherlands in 2017.

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