Memphis Depay will not feature in the Netherlands' World Cup opener against Senegal, but coach Louis van Gaal remains optimistic for the tournament, believing this squad to be capable of improving on a third-placed finish at Brazil 2014.
Depay had been a doubt for Monday's match in Doha due to a hamstring injury that has limited him to only two LaLiga appearances at Barcelona this season.
Oranje coach Van Gaal, speaking to the media on Sunday, confirmed the forward would miss out against Senegal, suggesting his "idea of the match" centred around how the two teams would fare without their respective stars. Senegal's Sadio Mane is out of the entire tournament.
Depay was involved in more goals in European qualifying for Qatar 2022 than any other player, scoring 12 and assisting a further six in just 10 matches.
Van Gaal said: "Mane can break open a match, and I would say Senegal will really miss him. But the same applies to us. We are really missing our top scorer and the king of the assists."
However, the Netherlands boss had been aware a swift return was unlikely for Depay, adding: "We knew before the World Cup he had a different programme, a different schedule than the schedule of a player who is preparing for a match."
When he recovers, Depay will be tasked with leading the line for a Dutch side Van Gaal considers superior to his class of 2014 – the last team he took to a tournament in the second of three stints in the role.
The Netherlands reached the semi-finals on that occasion, losing to Argentina on penalties before beating Brazil in the third-place play-off.
Given Van Gaal's high opinion of this group of players and his own considerable experience, he expects results to follow – potentially culminating in a first World Cup triumph.
"I believe in this squad, this group of players," he said. "In 2014, we came third with a squad of lesser quality, I would say. With this group, I expect more.
"It all depends not only on technical skills and tactical skills but also a bit of luck that you score at the right time or that the others don't score.
"I think we could become world champion, but there are squads that are in my view of a higher level than my squad. The thing is how the squad deals with that, and there I think I may be able to benefit from a head start.
"I'm saying we can become world champion. Whether we become world champion is a separate issue, but I'm saying we can."
While Van Gaal would not confirm the identity of his starting goalkeeper, he hinted at Cody Gakpo getting the nod ahead of Davy Klaassen in Depay's absence, and there is no doubt who his captain is.
Van Dijk appeared next to Van Gaal, who said: "I have a wonderful captain next to me. I have worked with so many captains, and he is a truly great captain. That makes things easier."
But neither Van Dijk nor Van Gaal would answer political questions after Gianni Infantino's remarkable opening address the previous day.
"I am no longer going to speak about political issues," the previously outspoken Van Gaal said. "I'm focusing on this coming match.
"I put a full stop after all these issues after we invited the migrants to watch our practice session. I requested all my players also stopped doing that and put a full stop and focus on the match against Senegal."
VAR Darren England discusses avoiding mistakes in interview for children’s book
The official responsible for Saturday’s VAR blunder broke his own golden rule when he wrongly ruled out Luis Diaz’s goal for Liverpool at Tottenham, a new book has revealed.
Darren England submitted to a Q&A for ‘The Football School Encyclopedia’ in which, asked ‘What is the hardest part of the job?’ he responds: “Making sure you do not make a mistake that impacts the outcome of the match.
“This is the worst thing for us.”
By a remarkable quirk of timing, the book, which is written by Alex Bellos and Ben Lyttleton and aimed at younger readers, will be published on Thursday and offers insight into one of those responsible for what veteran former referee Keith Hackett described in the Telegraph as an episode of “staggering incompetence”.
England and his VAR assistant Dan Cook have been stood down from future appointments while Professional Game Match Officials Limited chiefs undertake a full review of the “significant human error” that it concedes was made during the game.
In the Q&A, which was conducted prior to the incident, England continues: “I try to prepare the same way for every match, which is to stay calm and relaxed.
“During the match I remain very focused and just take each decision I need to make, one at a time.
“I do not worry about past decisions in the game as it is all about the next decision.”
The Football School Encyclopedia is aimed at younger readers and boasts its appeal to “anyone with a thirst for knowledge, amazing true stories, terrific trivia, brain-busting quizzes, eye-popping colour, laugh-out-loud cartoons on every page – and everything you want to know about football!”
Steven Davis vows to ‘give his all’ after being put in interim charge of Rangers
Steven Davis is determined to make the most of his chance in the Rangers hotseat as he admitted it came sooner than expected.
The 38-year-old Northern Ireland international, who had two successful spells as a player at Ibrox, was asked by the Gers board on Sunday evening to take the reins until they appoint a new permanent boss following the departure of Michael Beale.
The former Gers midfielder, who had been returning to fitness at the Ibrox club after a serious knee injury despite his contract expiring in the summer, will be assisted by fellow former Rangers players Alex Rae and Steven Smith, as well as coach Brian Gilmour and goalkeeping coach Colin Stewart.
Speaking in Cyprus ahead of the Europa League clash with Aris Limassol in Cyprus on Thursday night, Davis spoke about a “whirlwind” few days while addressing his future.
“Obviously it came out of the blue,” said Davis, who revealed Nicolas Raskin and Kemar Roofe have returned from injury.
“Sunday evening, I was just at home. It wasn’t a call that I was expecting.
“Things moved very fast and I came in on Monday morning and I started to work.
“It was James Bisgrove (chief executive) and Craig Robertson (board member) that I received the phonecall from.
“Obviously it was a bit of a whirlwind after that. I went off the phone and I had a few conversations but my decision was made very quickly.
“I was honoured by the fact the board had that conversation and my name came up and they put their trust in me to try and do this job.
“I’m going to give it my all to try and be successful.
“Listen, there’s not been any conversation in terms of a time frame. I all happened very quickly.
“I was asked to come in and take the game tonight. How things play out after that I’m not too sure.
“Regarding my feelings around it, I’ve obviously got ambitions. I did not quite expect it to happen quite as soon.
“I’m just determined really to make the most of the opportunity I’ve been given and we will see what develops from there.
“I’ve got the experience of Alex Rae in beside me and Colin Stewart and Steven Smith and Brian.
“I’ve had a lot of messages from managers I’ve worked under. Unfortunately I’ve not had a chance to respond because it’s been quite intense preparing for this game.
“I appreciate the support I’ve been given but I haven’t had the chance to reach out to anyone or felt the need to just yet.”
Beale departed the club following the 3-1 defeat to Aberdeen at Ibrox which left the Light Blues seven points behind cinch Premiership leaders Celtic, albeit they beat Real Betis 1-0 in their first Europa League fixture.
Davis insists it is time for everyone at the club to “step up”.
He said: “‘Listen, there’s a lot of character within the dressing room. There’s a lot of leaders in there as well.
“Everyone knows it’s time to step up. The great thing about football is you get another opportunity to turn things around.
“It’s not a position we want to be in. Everybody is hurting from it.
“The main focus is first and foremost getting a result on Thursday and building on it from there.
“We won our opening group game. We are in a strong position and we want to build on that
“I think for us we just want to give the boys the freedom to go out and play to their strengths really.”
UK and Ireland bid for Euro 2028 to be unopposed after Turkey withdraw interest
The UK and Ireland will host Euro 2028, subject to final approval from UEFA’s executive committee next week, after Turkey withdrew its interest.
The five-nation bid is now the only option on the table for the finals in five years’ time after Turkey pulled out of contention for the 2028 finals to focus on a joint bid with Italy for Euro 2032.
UEFA will formally announce the hosts for the two tournaments following a meeting of its executive committee in Switzerland next week.
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