REUTERS – Southampton goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg has been added to the Netherlands squad for their final Euro 2016 qualifier against Czech Republic on Tuesday after Tim Krul sustained a knee injury in Saturday’s 2-1 win over Kazakhstan.
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With Netherlands’ first choice keeper Jasper Cillessen also picking up an injury during the warm-up before the match against Kazakhstan, Stekelenburg will be hoping to be involved in the Netherlands squad for the first time since October 2012.
Currently fourth in Group A, the Netherlands face elimination and the last time the Dutch failed to qualify for a major tournament was the 2002 World Cup.
Despite beating Kazakhstan, their fate is not in their own hands. They need to beat the Czech Republic and hope Turkey, two points ahead of the Dutch, do not beat group leaders Iceland, if they are to make the play-offs.
With the injury ruling him out for rest of the season, Newcastle United’s Krul said he was “devastated” he will not be able to help the Magpies turn their campaign around as the club find themselves glued to the bottom of the Premier League table.
“I’m devastated the scan has confirmed my biggest fear, that I have torn my knee cruciate playing for Holland in the game against Kazakhstan last night,” Krul told the club’s website (www.nufc.co.uk).
“My recovery and hard work starts now to fully recover.
“I’m devastated I can’t play a part on the pitch to help the team turn this season around. I still believe this Club can, and should, be up there with the top teams,” he added.
(Reporting by Shravanth Vijayakumar in Bengaluru; editing by Amlan Chakraborty)
