Ben Foster was in disbelief that Micky van de Ven failed to make the starting eleven for the Netherlands in their Euro 2024 opener against Poland.
Micky Van de Ven is representing the Netherlands at Euro 2024
Van de Ven forced his way into the Netherlands squad on the back of a stellar first season at Tottenham following his switch from Wolfsburg 12 months ago.
The 23-year-old also showed towards the end of last season that he is more than competent at left-back and he was used in the same position by Ronald Koeman in the friendlies leading up to the Euros.
However, Van de Ven failed to make Koeman’s starting eleven for the Oranje’s clash against Poland on Sunday, with Nathan Ake playing at left-back while Virgil Van Dijn and Stefan De Vrij started in central defence.
Van de Ven can’t get a start for the Netherlands
The Tottenham man did get a few minutes under his belt, replacing Ake in the 87th minute and helping the Dutch see out a 2-1 win. Foster was baffled that a player of Van de Ven’s quality did not start for the Netherlands.
The 41-year-old said on The Cycling GK Youtube channel: “Talking about defenders, did you see the Dutch backline, by the way? Oh my gosh!
“Micky van de Ven can’t even get into the starting lineup. He didn’t start. He came on at left-back, he did. He came on at left-back, Micky van de Ven.”
Spurs Web Opinion
Koeman is blessed with some outstanding defenders and it is perhaps not completely surprising that the former Barcelona boss preferred to go with experience over youthful exuberance, although Van de Ven might have felt hard done by at being left out of the starting eleven.
He is such a weapon to have against forward lines with a lot of pace, I’m sure he will get some minutes later in the tournament. We want to see that Van de Ven vs Mbappe race!
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