Manchester United duo Matthijs de Ligt and Joshua Zirkzee dropped from Netherlands squad | OneFootball

Manchester United stars Matthijs de Ligt and Joshua Zirkzee have both been excluded from the Netherlands’ provisional squad for the Nations League quarter-finals.

The Netherlands host Spain on 20 March at De Kuip before travelling to Valencia for the second leg which takes place three days later.

De Ligt and Zirkzee signed for United last summer from Bayern Munich and Bologna respectively. Both of them have not had an easy start to life at Old Trafford, with the club currently in 14th place in the Premier League standings.

De Ligt has featured prominently for United this term, making 34 appearances across all competitions. He has managed two goals in that period, the most recent one coming in Wednesday’s 3-2 win over Ipswich Town.

Zirkzee on the other hand, has started three consecutive top-flight fixtures for the first time since September, having struggled to cement his place in the team.

The forward has however demonstrated glimpses of improvement over the past few weeks.

This is the first time that De Ligt has not been called up, apart from when he has been injured, since he earned his first cap for Oranje in 2017.

The 25-year-old was formerly the captain of the national team before he lost his spot in the starting XI to Inter Milan star Stefan de Vrij.

During the September international break, De Ligt endured a difficult time, highlighted by mistakes in games against Bosnia and Herzegovina and Germany.

His performances at the time earned him some public criticism from team boss Ronald Koeman.

Zirkzee made his international debut during last summer’s Euro 2024 campaign and had been named in each of Koeman’s subsequent squads.

United are back in action on Sunday when they face host Fulham in the fifth round of the FA Cup.

Featured image Michael Regan via Getty Images

Follow us on Bluesky: @peoplesperson.bsky.social