Feyenoord midfielder Valente gets first call-up to Dutch squad

AMSTERDAM :Feyenoord midfielder Luciano Valente has been called up to the Netherlands squad for the first time with defender Matthijs de Ligt earning a recall for decisive World Cup qualifiers against Poland and Lithuania this month.

A 25-man selection named on Friday has a handful of changes from the squad that won Group G games over Malta and Finland last month but 22-year-old Valente wins a place after a run of form at club level.

He is a former Italy junior international who switched allegiance and has played for the Dutch at under-21 level, including reaching the semi-finals of the European Championship in Slovakia in June.

Feyenoord midfielder Quinten Timber is also back in the squad, after having to withdraw last month. Teun Koopmeiners was called up as his replacement then but has not been selected this time.

Lutsharel Geertruida is also back in the squad after playing for Sunderland in central defence in recent weeks and replaces injured Liverpool fullback Jeremie Frimpong.

De Ligt comes into the squad in favour of Inter Milan’s Stefan de Vrij, while Noa Lang returns despite having little playing time at his new club Napoli.

The Netherlands almost certainly need just one win from their last two group games to qualify for next year’s World Cup in Canada, Mexico and the United States.

Due to their much better goal difference, the Dutch could even afford to lose to Poland in Warsaw next Friday, provided they win their final match against Lithuania in Amsterdam on the following Monday.

The Dutch top the standings with 16 points from six games, three more than second-placed Poland.

Squad:

Goalkeepers: Mark Flekken (Bayer Leverkusen), Robin Roefs (Sunderland), Bart Verbruggen (Brighton & Hove Albion)

Defenders: Nathan Ake