Netherlands: Manchester United duo Joshua Zirkzee and Matthijs de Ligt miss out on Nations League call-up


Manchester United duo Joshua Zirkzee and Matthijs de Ligt have been left out of the Netherlands’ provisional squad for next month’s Nations League quarter-finals.

The Netherlands host Spain on 20 March before travelling to Valencia three days later for the second leg.

Zirkzee, 23, made his senior international debut as a substitute against Turkey at Euro 2024 and has been named in each squad since, picking up six caps.

De Ligt, 25, has featured in every squad for the Netherlands, when fit, since earning his first cap in 2017.

Manger Ronald Koeman has selected a 25-man provisional squad, which he will trim down next week.

Both players joined Manchester United last summer and have struggled to find their feet at Old Trafford, although De Ligt was on the scoresheet in the 3-2 win over Ipswich on Wednesday.

De Ligt has featured 25 times in the Premier League, starting on 21 occasions, and was formerly the captain of the Netherlands team until he lost his spot in the starting line-up to Inter Milan defender Stefan de Vrij.

During the September international break, De Ligt was substituted at half-time during a 2-2 draw with Germany after committing mistakes in the build-up to both goals conceded.

“It just looks like he is now in a period where all his mistakes are being punished,” Koeman said after the draw.

“I gave him a new chance today, but eventually I protected him by taking him off.”

Zirkzee has regularly appeared from the bench with just 11 of his 27 appearances comes from the start.

Former Manchester United forward Memphis Depay, who moved to Brazilian club Corinthians in September, is named in the provisional squad.

Depay has scored eight goals in 24 appearances for the South American outfit but has not represented his nation since their loss against England in the semi-finals at Euro 2024.



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