Louis van Gaal has included Leeds United’s Pascal Struijk in the Netherlands’ provisional squad for the UEFA Nations League fixtures against Poland and Belgium later this month.
The Whites defender was born in Belgium to a Dutch father and an Indonesian mother, and this made him eligible to represent either of the two European countries. He is yet to make his international debut for the senior team.
Roberto Martínez had already expressed his desire to have the Leeds player for Belgium even though he had represented the Netherlands U17s in the past. The option to represent the country he was born in is no longer possible due to a problem with his passport.
”That’s now off the table. At the time I didn’t really know what I wanted to do. Then I considered everything, but the Netherlands is my first choice,” he told ESPN’s program, De Voetbalkantine.
This now gives a boost to the Netherlands to have the centre-back play for them. Jesse Marsch’s man will have to wait and find out whether Van Gaal will include him in the final squad for the two fixtures in September.
“It means a lot to me. It’s the first time I’m even in the preselection [provisional squad]. I was met by the media manager after the training and he told me the news. My phone was full of messages and then I felt like a little kid,” the 23-year-old explained.
“It’s very nice to experience and now let’s hope that I’ll be in the final selection soon. If I am in that selection, I will also choose the Netherlands. That’s my first choice.”
Should Van Gaal include Struijk in the final squad for the two matches this month, then he can potentially have a chance to play against Belgium.
