Manchester United duo dropped from Dutch squad | OneFootball

Manchester United duo Joshua Zirkzee and Matthijs de Ligt have been omitted from the Netherlands squad for the Nations League quarter-final with Spain next month.

The Dutch take on Spain in a two-legged tie in March, hosting the European champions on March 20th before the return leg in Valencia three days later.

Ronald Koeman has named a 25-player provisional squad for the games, that will be trimmed down next week. However, there’s no place for either De Ligt or Zirkzee.

For De Ligt, it’s the first time the centre-back has been left out by the Dutch, when fit, since making his debut in 2017. The 25-year-old has endured a tough debut season at Manchester United, who are 14th in the Premier League table. He has earned 49 caps for the Netherlands but was criticised after an error-prone performance against Germany during September’s international.

Zirkzee has similarly struggled to find his feet in English football. A £36m signing from Bologna in the summer, he has scored just five times in 38 appearances across all competitions. He made his senior debut at Euro 2024 last summer.

There’s plenty of Premier League representation elsewhere in the squad. Liverpool centre-back Virgil van Dijk will captain the Netherlands and is joined by club teammates Ryan Gravenberch and Cody Gakpo.

Brighton duo Bart Verbruggen and Jan Paul van Hecke are in the squad, alongside Jurrien Timber (Arsenal), Donyell Malen (Aston Villa), Justin Kluivert (Bournemouth), Mark Flekken (Brentford), and Nathan Ake (Manchester City).

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