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November 18, 2019

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Van Dijk pulls out of clash with Estonia

Netherlands captain Virgil van Dijk will miss tomorrow’s Euro 2020 qualifier against Estonia for personal reasons, the Dutch federation announced yesterday.

“The manager Ronald Koeman will not be able to call up Virgil van Dijk on Tuesday against Estonia,” the federation said on its website.

“The Dutch captain has had to withdraw from the match for personal reasons and left the training camp immediately.”

The Dutch booked their passage to next year’s finals, their first major competition since the 2014 World Cup, with a goalless draw against Northern Ireland in Belfast on Saturday.

At stake in tomorrow’s game will be top spot in Group C, which is currently held by Germany, which is two points ahead of the Netherlands.

Center back Van Dijk, 29, has started all 12 league matches for runaway English Premier League leader Liverpool this season. Juergen Klopp’s side returns to league action with a trip to 12th-placed Crystal Palace on Saturday.

Meanwhile, Van Dijk’s fellow Liverpool defender Joe Gomez’s rollercoaster week, from the high of beating Manchester City last Sunday to being booed at Wembley on Thursday, ended with him missing England’s final Euro 2020 qualifier in Kosovo due to a sore knee.

The 22-year-old — whose Reds teammate Jordan Henderson also missed yesterday’s trip to Kosovo with a viral infection — featured in the headlines earlier last week after City striker Raheem Sterling confronted him at England’s training center on Monday, the day after Liverpool’s 3-1 victory over City.

Gomez was booed when he came on as a substitute in the 7-0 mauling of Montenegro, while Henderson missed it due to a one-match ban.

Victory assured England of a place at the finals.

“Jordan Henderson and Joe Gomez will miss England’s final UEFA EURO 2020 qualifier in Kosovo on Sunday,” read a statement from the Football Association.

“Henderson arrived in camp with a viral infection that has not fully cleared.

“Meanwhile, his Liverpool teammate Gomez sustained a knock to the knee in training on Friday and has not recovered sufficiently enough.”




 

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