EURO 2024 fears 'chorus' of injuries

The shock of the "Orange Tornado"

The Netherlands (championship candidates) have just received shocking news after key midfielder Frenkie de Jong will miss EURO 2024 due to an ankle injury. The 27-year-old Barcelona midfielder was officially ruled out just before the Netherlands' 4-0 friendly win over Iceland on June 12. He did not recover in time despite being named in coach Ronald Koeman's Netherlands squad earlier this month. His last appearance was the defeat to Real Madrid in La Liga in April.

Netherlands midfielder Frenkie de Jong (right) will not be able to attend EURO 2024 due to injury

According to the Dutch press, the absence of Frenkie de Jong is considered a big shock for the "Orange Storm" and coach Koeman himself. The role of this midfielder (54 appearances for the national team) is considered very important in the Dutch squad with extensive experience and is a pillar in coach Koeman's tactical scheme. Without De Jong, the Dutch midfield lacks players with international experience. Except for Georginio Wijnaldum (92 appearances for the national team), the rest are quite inexperienced in international competition, causing Mr. Koeman to have a headache choosing a replacement. The former Barcelona coach is likely to line up a 3-man midfield including Tijani Reijnders, Jerdy Schouten and Ryan Gravenberch as used in the 2 friendly wins against Canada and Iceland. With Frenkie de Jong absent and striker Luuk de Jong retiring from international football, the responsibility of leading the young Dutch squad will fall heavily on the shoulders of captain Virgil van Dijk and striker Memphis Depay.

Championship candidates have a headache because of the injury "virus"

Although UEFA has postponed EURO 2024 by a few days to ease the burden on players as the 2023-2024 season just ended in early June, the championship candidates still cannot escape the fear of injury. After having to leave out young talent Aleksandar Pavlovic, Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann is also worried about the health of goalkeeper Manuel Neuer in addition to the injury risks of stars Toni Kroos, Antonio Rudiger, Niclas Fullkrug and Nico Schlotterbeck, who played in the Champions League final with Real Madrid and Dortmund earlier this month.

World runner-up France is closely monitoring the back and knee pain that superstar Kylian Mbappe suffered in a recent friendly against Luxembourg. Previously, coach Didier Deschamps was forced to leave out left-back Lucas Hernandez due to injury. Other candidates such as defending champions Italy, runner-up England, Spain, and Belgium are also not immune to the injury "virus" ahead of this year's EURO. The Italian team had to drop defender Giorgio Scalvini, while mainstay Federico Chiesa may not be in the best shape and form due to constant injuries. Similarly, despite having a star-studded squad, coach Gareth Southgate had to call up defender Luke Shaw (who has not fully recovered) after leaving out injured centre-back Harry Maguire. Spain will be without veteran Isco and young talent Gavi, while midfield playmaker Pedri could be forced to play at EURO 2024 after being sidelined for four months with injury. Belgium are no better off, having had to drop defender Thomas Meunier and goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois for similar reasons. Meanwhile, Poland are worried about the recovery of strikers Robert Lewandowski and Karol Swiderski after being without striker Arkadiusz Milik.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/euro-2024-lo-ngai-diep-khuc-chan-thuong-185240611185925802.htm