Dutch Juniors Face Goalkeepingโ & โคdefensive Shifts Ahead of Crucial Euro qualifiers
The Netherlands’ Under-21 โteam will head into upcoming European Championshipโ qualification matches with altered โขplans after Feyenoord defender Givairo Read andโ AZ goalkeeper โขRome-Jayden Owusu-Oduro withdrew due to injury, the KNVBโ announced today.โ Theโ pair’s absence forces national coach Michael Reiziger to adjust his squad ahead of vital contests againstโข Slovenia and Israel.
These โmatchesโ are critical for the Dutch Juniors’ โขhopes of reaching the 2027 European โChampionship.โข After beginning qualification last month with draws against Israel (2-2) and Bosnia and Herzegovina (0-0), the team currently sits in fourth place in their qualifying group. The upcoming fixtures โrepresent an early prospect to gain ground and solidify their position inโฃ a competitiveโฃ field.
Read was substituted โduringโ Feyenoord’s recent โฃmatch againstโ Goโ Aheadโข Eagles with a muscleโค injury, while โฃOwusu-Oduroโ was unable to finish his lastโ Premier League game against PSV, also โคdue to injury.
To fill theโ gaps, Reiziger has called โฃup AZ’s Elijah โขDijkstra and Jong โPSV’s Niek Schiks. โคDijkstra has โขone โprior appearance โfor the Dutch Juniors, while this willโ be Schiks’ first call-up to the team.
Theโข Dutch Juniors will first host Slovenia on Friday, followedโฃ by an away match against โIsrael next Tuesday, which will be played in Hungary.