Bruno Martins Indi pulls out of Netherlands squad, Louis van Gaal opts against calling up a replacement | OneFootball

Bruno Martins Indi has pulled out of the Netherlands squad with an injury, and Louis van Gaal has opted against selecting a replacement.

To the surprise of many, Martins-Indi has been named in the last two Netherlands squads after performing well for AZ. In the last international break, he even started a match.

He won’t be doing so this time though after picking an injury against Ajax that has ruled him out of the matches against Poland and Belgium.

While he has withdrawn though, Van Gaal has chosen not to call up a replacement, despite Sven Botman and Pascal Struijk being two ideal alternatives on paper.

That suggests the manager is open to moving Daley Blind from wing-back to centre-back and to using Matthijs de Ligt on the left-hand side of the back three if necessary, given that Nathan Ake is now the only left-footed central defender in the squad.