Strootman back in Dutch squad after 2 years of injury misery
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) - Kevin Strootman was included in the Netherlands squad Wednesday after more than two years out because of knee injuries.
The AS Roma midfielder was named in coach Danny Blind's 26-man squad for friendly matches against European Championship-bound teams Ireland, Poland and Austria.
Strootman's last match for the Netherlands was in March 2014, when he lasted only 39 minutes before an injury forced his substitution against France.
The Dutch sorely missed his commanding presence in midfield during a qualification campaign that saw the team fail to win a place at Euro 2016 just two years after reaching the World Cup semifinals in Brazil.
Blind called up 19-year-old FC Utrecht midfielder Bart Ramselaar for the first time, while midfield veteran Wesley Sneijder is set to add to his 121 international appearances after being included in the squad even though he cannot play against Ireland because of Turkish Cup duties with Galatasaray.
Netherlands captain Arjen Robben will miss the friendlies because of injury and the team's all-time leading scorer, Robin van Persie, was again not selected.
The Netherlands plays Ireland on May 27 in Dublin, Poland on June 1 in Gdansk and completes its run of friendlies by facing Austria on June 4 in Vienna.
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Squad:
Goalkeepers: Jasper Cillessen (Ajax), Kenneth Vermeer (Feyenoord), Jeroen Zoet (PSV Eindhoven)
Defenders: Patrick van Aanholt (Sunderland), Daley Blind (Manchester United), Jeffrey Bruma (PSV Eindhoven), Virgil van Dijk (Southampton), Kenny Tete (Ajax), Joel Veltman (Ajax), Ron Vlaar (AZ Alkmaar), Jetro Willems (PSV Eindhoven)
Midfielders: Riechedly Bazoer (Ajax), Marco van Ginkel (PSV Eindhoven), Davy Proepper (PSV Eindhoven), Bart Ramselaar (FC Utrecht), Wesley Sneijder (Galatasaray), Kevin Strootman (Roma), Tonny Vilhena (Feyenoord), Georginio Wijnaldum (Newcastle)
Forwards: Memphis Depay (Manchester United), Bas Dost (Wolfsburg), Vincent Janssen (AZ Alkmaar), Luuk de Jong (PSV Eindhoven), Juergen Locadia (PSV Eindhoven), Luciano Narsingh (PSV Eindhoven), Quincy Promes (Spartak Moscow)