Koeman explains Brobbey and Steijn absence from Oranje, and holds out hope for Meerdink | OneFootball

Ronald Koeman has explained why he did not include Brian Brobbey and Sem Steijn in the selection of the Dutch national team.

The national coach has made a decision regarding the Ajax striker, while also suggesting that goals alone are not enough for Feyenoord’s new attacking midfielder.

Brobbey was part of the Dutch selection during the last international period. In the quarter-final of the Nations League against Spain, the striker played a total of 19 minutes. “It was mainly due to his fitness”, said Koeman about the absent Ajax striker, who also failed to appear consistently in Amsterdam in the last weeks of the league.

“He was not one hundred per cent fit. And also not in terms of performance, that was too little.”

For Sem Steijn, Koeman believes national team involvement is still too soon for the attacking midfielder. The Twente maestro became the top scorer of the Eredivisie and made a transfer to Feyenoord this summer. With all things considered, what does the Hague native have to do to be selected?

“It’s not about how many goals you score, but also for others who are eligible, we play with a fairly fixed selection,” said Koeman about not selecting Steijn. “If you call up new guys, what does that mean for the guys who were there against Spain? For Steijn, the challenge must be to bring the same next year.”

Although Koeman would like to work with a fixed selection, not everything is set in stone. “It also has to do with competition for certain positions. But abroad, the intensity is also a lot higher than in the Netherlands. We do look at that, because we do play World Cup qualification.”

Hope for AZ’s Meerdink

For Koeman, AZ striker Mexx Meerdink arrives as a possibility for the future and someone who can fill the striking void for Oranje.

“We are not overflowing with top strikers. I don’t know exactly what is currently walking around in the age group of 15 and 16, but it is clear that we no longer have those classic, big strikers like we used to have,” Koeman said at his press conference on Tuesday. “We had players like Patrick Kluivert, Klaas Jan Huntelaar and Ruud van Nistelrooy back then. You see fewer types like that now.”

“Meerdink is definitely an interesting player if he becomes AZ’s regular striker”, the national boss continued. “In a few weeks, he has shown that there is a future in that. Let’s hope that he gets the chance and takes it, so that he is a player who might be an option for us.”

Koeman revealed that he doesn’t know who he’ll pick to start up front against Finland and Malta. “It will probably be Memphis Depay or Wout Weghorst in the point of attack, as it looks now. But Cody Gakpo and Donyell Malen are also options in that position.”

GBeNeFN | Max Bradfield