Robben and Afellay out of Dutch squad
Reuters - Friday 26 August 2011, 11:17
ZEIST - Arjen Robben and
Ibrahim Afellay have pulled out injured from the Dutch squad for
the Euro2012 qualifying matches against San Marino on September 2
and Finland four days later.
Netherlands coach Bert van Marwijk, who named his 23-man
squad on Friday, replaced the injured duo with Jeremain Lens and
Georginio Wijnaldum
Robben has an inflammation affecting the groin and will not
be available for Bayern Munich this weekend but Van Marwijk
said: "I am keeping the door open for him if his injury improves
next week."
Barcelona midfielder Afellay is still recovering from a
muscle injury.
Netherlands had their last friendly match against Englan
called off due to the riots in London earlier this month, but
have still overtaken world champions Spain at the top of the
FIFA rankings.
"Normally I'm not interested in stats like that but this is
different," said Van Marwijk.
"This is based on our results the last four years and then
it says something about what we are doing and that makes me
proud."
Netherlands are top of Group E with 18 points after six
matches, three more than Sweden, who will be their opponents in
the final qualifying match on October 11.
Squad:
Goalkeepers: Maarten Stekelenburg (AS Roma), Michel Vorm
(Swansea City), Tim Krul (Newcastle United)
Defenders: Khalid Boulahrouz (VfB Stuttgart), Edson
Braafheid (Hoffenheim), Jeffrey Bruma (SV Hamburg), John
Heitinga (Everton), Hedwiges Maduro (Valencia), Joris Mathijsen
(Malaga), Erik Pieters (PSV Eindhoven), Gregory van der Wiel
(Ajax Amsterdam).
Midfielders: Mark van Bommel (Milan), Nigel de Jong
(Manchester City), Wesley Sneijder (Internazionale), Kevin
Strootman (PSV Eindhoven), Rafael van der Vaart (Tottenham
Hotspur), Georginio Wijnaldum (PSV Eindhoven)
Forwards: Eljero Elia (SV Hamburg), Klaas Jan Huntelaar
(Schalke 04), Luuk de Jong (Twente Enschede), Dirk Kuyt
(Liverpool), Robin van Persie (Arsenal), Jeremain Lens (PSV
Eindhoven).