Leeds United defender Pascal Struijk has hinted at his frustration over a lack of recognition from the Netherlands.
ELF Voetbal have an interview with the Leeds star today. He admits he doesn’t know what he needs to do to get back into the Netherlands set up.
Struijk is yet to make a senior appearance for the Netherlands. He was capped by the U-17 team in 2016, making three appearances for them.
He’s also eligible to play for Belgium but has regularly insisted that his focus is on the Netherlands. The closest he has come to featuring for his country came in 2022.
He was part of the Netherlands provision 39-man squad for the World Cup that year but was not selected for the final tournament. He’s not come close to being back in the squad since.
That is likely to Leeds’ relegation in 2023, but also the Netherlands strength in depth at centre-back. Alongside Virgil van Dijk they also have the likes of Nathan Ake, Matthijs de Ligt, Stefan de Vrij, Micky van de Ven, Jurrien Timber, Jan Paul van Hecke and Sven Botman.
The Leeds man clearly thinks he deserves a shot, though. And doesn’t know what more he needs to do to earn it.
“Unfortunately, I never heard anything from national coach Ronald Koeman,” he said.
“I understand the Koeman brothers came to watch our match against Liverpool once. Six months later, we were relegated to the Championship. It makes sense then that other players would be prioritized.”
“One of my goals this season is to get into the Dutch national team. I try to show that every week. I don’t know what else I need to do to be considered for selection. Hopefully the national coach follows the Premier League matches.
“Although I understand that the competition at center back is fierce for the Dutch national team.”
