Lutsharel Geertruida earns late World Cup call as Ta Bi shines for Ivory Coast U21s | OneFootball

Sunderland's World Cup contingent has risen to 12 after Lutsharel Geertruida was drafted into the Netherlands squad. Winger Jocelin Ta Bi will not be at the finals, but he has impressed for Ivory Coast Under-21s in France.

The Dutch federation said Jurriën Timber, 24, has not recovered from a groin injury and will leave the New York pre-camp after facing Uzbekistan. Ronald Koeman has called up Geertruida, returning the Kansas base to 26 players. The injury sidelined Timber for the final month of Arsenal's Premier League title win and limited him to 54 minutes in their Champions League final defeat by Paris Saint-Germain.

Geertruida spent last season on loan at the Stadium of Light from RB Leipzig, making 30 appearances. He is set to return to Leipzig, so he seems unlikely to be involved in Sunderland's pre-season. The Netherlands will face Japan, Sweden and Tunisia in the group stage.

Ta Bi joined from Maccabi Netanya in January but made only two appearances before an ankle injury. He was an unused substitute in the final four games, then returned to fitness for the Maurice Revello Tournament.

He opened the scoring in a 3-3 draw with Japan last Monday, then again in a 3-1 win over Venezuela two days later. Absent for a goalless draw with Portugal on Saturday, he returned to the starting line-up to net twice in a 2-1 win against Canada on Tuesday night. The victory sealed a semi-final place, with Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, China or Congo possible opponents.

Source: Sunderland Echo