23 Dutchmen in Germany - The Final

May 8th, 2006 | By: Mike | 4 Comments »

Here is the team as selected by the general World Cup Blog reading public. Squad selection for the Dutch team is a little tricky. On the one hand we have a bunch of no-brainers that we know without a doubt are going. On the other hand we have a pool of players who could go either way and we have no way of knowing how they will perform in the run of to selection day. So here goes:

Keepers: Edwin van der Sar (Manchester United), Maarten Stekelenburg (Ajax), Henk Timmer (AZ Alkmaar)

Defenders: Khalid Boulahrouz (Hamburg SV), Giovanni van Bronckhorst (Barcelona), Tim de Cler (AZ Alkmaar), Jan Kromkamp (Liverpool), Joris Mathijsen (AZ Alkmaar), Andre Ooijer (PSV Eindhoven), Johnny Heitinga (Ajax), Barry Opdam (AZ Alkmaar)

Midfielders: Mark van Bommel (Barcelona), Phillip Cocu (PSV), Denny Landzaat (AZ), Hedwiges Maduro (Ajax), Wesley Sneijder (Ajax), Rafael van der Vaart (Hamburg)

Strikers: Romeo Castelen (Feyenoord), Klaas-Jan Huntelaar (Ajax), Dirk Kuyt (Feyenoord), Ruud van Nistelrooy (Manchester United), Robin van Persie (Arsenal), Arjen Robben (Chelsea)

So there we have it. The choices were easier with van Basten having released the revised squad sheet today. How does that look to you? Who would deputize for Kromkamp at right-back if he was injured? Maybe we’ll do a starting eleven it next.

Tags: Final squad, marco van basten, Netherlands

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Comments

By Rik | May 8th, 2006 at 12:19 pm

Thought Johnny Heitinga plays right back for Ajax? Sure I’ve seen him there.

Posted from United Kingdom

By Mike | May 8th, 2006 at 12:25 pm

Ya, I wasn’t sure. Now that you mention it though, Heitinga was playing at right back for the Dutch in Euro 2004 and got sent off right?

Thanks for putting my mind at ease.

Posted from United States

By sphinx | May 8th, 2006 at 2:46 pm

Where do Tim de Cler play, CB or LB?

Posted from Myanmar

By Igor | May 9th, 2006 at 3:36 pm

The 6 midfielders listed are probably the best 6 players. The problem with that selection is that van Basten has previously said he wanted two players at each position and he considers van Bommel a right mid. This means that there are 3 right mids (van Bommel, Landzaat and Sneijder) and no cover for Cocu at centre mid (which is why I think that either Davids or Boateng will make the final squad). also my pick to backup Kromkamp is N. de Jong.

Posted from Canada

By Your starting Eleven - FIFA World Cup 2006 - Netherlands World Cup Team Blog | May 10th, 2006 at 1:49 pm

[...] And you thought the hard bit was over with. The 23 man squad was finalised a couple days ago. Now, how about that starting eleven? Keepers: Edwin van der Sar (Manchester United), Maarten Stekelenburg (Ajax), Henk Timmer (AZ Alkmaar) [...]

Posted from United States

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