Dutch lose players for France clash to virus
- Paris: Liverpool forward Cody Gakpo, Bayern Munich defender Matthijs delight and three other Netherlands players have a virus and will miss the Euro 2024 qualifier against France, the Dutch federation said Thursday.
- The Netherlands was already without Barcelona playmaker Frenkie de Jong and winger Steven Bergwind due to injuries for the match against the World Cup finalists at the Stade de France on Friday They will now also have to do without 23-year-old Gakpo, who has netted four Premier League goals since joining Liverpool in January from PSV Eindhoven after he shone at the World Cup for the Dutch.
- Gakpo, Delight, Newcastle United's Sven Bootman, Anderlecht goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen and Joey Veerman from PSV Eind- hoven all had to leave the Dutch training camp. The Dutch will host minnows Gibraltar on Monday in their second qualifier.
- The five players "left the has been turbulent, to say the least. Dutch national team's trai- ning camp this morning." KNVB said in a statement on Thursday "They are suf fering from a viral infec- tion."
- Dutch coach Ronald Koeman has called up Bayern Munich's Ryan Gravenberch, Kjell Scherpen from Vitesse and Inter's Ste- fan de Vrij as replacements, the statement said. "After the match against France, the makeup of the squad will be reviewed," the federation said.
- Meanwhile, three months on from their agonising defeat in the World Cup final in Do- ha, France will begin a new era with several veterans having retired and Kylian Mbappe handed the captain's armband for their Euro 2024 qualifying campaign. The aftermath of that loss on penalties to Argentina in Qatar has been turbulent, to say the least.
- Off the field, a series of scandals brought down veteran French Football Federation President Noel LeGraet but not before he had agreed a deal for coach Didier Deschamps to remain in his job until 2026. Not everyone in France agreed with the decision to extend the reign of a coach who has been in charge since 2012, especially as Zinedine Zidane is seen as an ideal successor.
- On the pitch, the biggest name to bow out is goalkeeper Hugo Lloris, who retired from international duty at the age of 36 and after over a decade as captain.