Oranje manager Ronald Koeman calls up AZ striker Mexx Meerdink for World Cup qualifiers

Dutch national football team manager Ronald Koeman has announced his squad for the World Cup qualifying matches against Malta and Finland. AZ striker Mexx Meerdink has been added to the squad for the first time, the Dutch football association KNVB has reported.

Oranje’s highest goalscorer of all time, Memphis Depay, and Wout Weghorst are the other two strikers in the 24-man squad. Winger Donyell Malen can also play in the striker position if necessary.

Meerdink is following in the footsteps of his father, Martijn Meerdink. Martijn played one game for the national team, which came in a friendly against Ecuador in March 2006. Legendary Dutch striker Marco van Basten was the national team manager at the time.

Meerdink is competing with Irish striker Troy Parrott for the striker position at AZ this season. He has been directly involved in eight goals for AZ this season, with five goals and three assists. He has scored twice in the Eredivisie in seven games this season; the remaining goals have come in the qualifying stages of the UEFA Conference League.

In comparison with the previous international break, Koeman did not select Sem Steijn, Noa Lang, Teun Koopmeiners, and Matthijs de Ligt. Full-backs Jeremie Frimpong and Quilindschy Hartman were recalled to the squad. Hartman has played four games for the national side, with the last of these games coming in November 2023.

Oranje will face Malta next Thursday in the Ta' Qali National Stadium. Kick off is scheduled to be at 8:45 p.m. They will then face Finland at 6 p.m. in the Johan Cruijff ArenA on Sunday.

The Dutch national side leads group G with 10 points out of four games. The World Cup will be held in the United States, Canada, and Mexico.