Joshua Zirkzee decision slammed as Netherlands boss makes surprise statement

Dutch pundits have slammed a decision involving Manchester United striker Joshua Zirkzee after Netherlands boss Ronald Koeman made a surprise statement.

Zirkzee, 23, made a perfect start to life at United last month when he came off the bench to score the winning goal against Fulham on his debut.

The striker had less impressive performances against Brighton and Liverpool but managed to find his goalscoring touch after leaving for the international break.

Zirkzee scored the opening goal in the Netherlands’ 5-3 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina on the weekend, which was his first start for his country.

United’s no.11 also managed to bag an assist and create four goalscoring opportunities for his teammates.

Koeman confirms Zirkzee won’t start

However, during his post-match press conference, Ronald Koeman somewhat surprisingly confirmed that Zirkzee would not start the next game against Germany.

“Zirkzee did very well, but I discussed this with them beforehand,” Koeman said before revealing that Brian Brobbey will start ahead of the United forward. 

“I want to see both strikers from the start and the choice of why Joshua starts today and Brian on Tuesday is mainly to do with the opponent.

“We hope to be dangerous in the transition against Germany. I want to see them both, but ultimately, you want to have a regular striker.”

It is usually expected that managers rotate their teams during these international breaks. Still, after such a strong display, many Dutch supporters would have liked to see Zirkzee against a stronger opponent.

For United, it will be nice for the striker to get a little bit of rest rather than having two starts in less than a week for his country, especially since Rasmus Højlund is only just returning from injury.

Koeman criticised by Van Hooijdonk

That criticism came this week as expected, with Pierre van Hooijdonk and Rafael van der Vaart
expressing their concern about the decision from Koeman.

Van Hooijdonk told NOS: “It’s actually a shame that Koeman has already said that Brobbey will play against Germany because you are actually very curious to see how this duo [Zirkzee and Tijjani Reijnders] will do against a good opponent.”

Van der Vaart added: “What does Koeman gain from this? Imagine… Brobbey does great against a big country like Germany, or he does badly… I would just continue like this, I think. Why would you make a change?

“He has already said it, of course, and he will do what he has in mind. But it is almost a bit of a shame, of course.”

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