Frenkie de Jong was named in the Netherlands starting XI to face Sweden on Saturday at World Cup 2026 despite the Barcelona star struggling with some fitness issues.
Ronald Koeman admitted before the game that De Jong was a doubt for the match due to some “minor complaints about his physical condition.”
However, the Dutch boss opted to go with De Jong from the start and explained why before kick-off.
“I don’t think he’s at 100%, but he’s in good enough shape to start the match. We still have the warm-up
to be sure about it. So there’s still a slight uncertainty,” he told the media.
“We considered the possibility that he might not start, but it’s not a problem. Of course, we want to field our best team, the one that seems strongest to us. That’s par for the course in football.”
The Netherlands went on to start the game well, with Brian Brobbey scoring twice to give the Dutch a 2-0 lead heading into half-time.
