Robin van Persie to sit out for Dutch

November 12, 2012
By ESPN.com news services

Robin van Persie on Monday pulled out of the Holland squad to face Germany in an international friendly on Wednesday due to a thigh injury.

Van Persie played the full 90 minutes as Manchester United hit back from 2-0 down to win 3-2 at Aston Villa on Saturday evening but will not be considered for the clash in Amsterdam.

Four of the players named on the standby list by coach Louis van Gaal last week -- Roma goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg and PSV Eindhoven's Jeremain Lens, Luciano Narsingh and Kevin Strootman -- were not deemed fit enough to be included in the full squad.

Therefore, RKC Waalwijk goalkeeper Jeroen Zoet, Wolfsburg striker Bas Dost and Feyenoord trio Jordy Clasie, Ruben Schaken and Stefan de Vrij have been called up to the 23-man party.

Bayern Munich's Dutch winger Arjen Robben is likely to feature against several of his club teammates and he believes the pressure is on the visitors to bounce back from their stunning collapse against Sweden.

Joachim Low's men led 4-0 in a World Cup qualifier in Berlin last month only to concede four times to draw 4-4.

"'Die Mannschaft' will be hell-bent on revenge for their last disappointing performance," Robben told NUsport. "In Germany, especially, there is some pressure after the 4-4 against Sweden. They are keen on bouncing back."

Low, meanwhile, has had to deal with an exodus of players from his initial squad to face Holland.

Six players have pulled out of Low's squad and, although the Germany coach has added three new names, he is nonetheless down to only 19 fit players for the clash in Amsterdam.

Mesut Ozil and Miroslav Klose were the latest to withdraw due to injury and illness respectively, following Bastian Schweinsteiger (flu), Marcel Schmelzer (foot injury), Jerome Boateng (torn groin muscle) and Toni Kroos (stomach bug).

Inevitably the question is whether any of the players would have pulled out had it been an important qualifying match and not just a friendly, but Germany general manager Oliver Bierhoff said he trusts all of the ailments are genuine.

"What annoys us is not having the players here, but we have enough trust in the clubs and the players themselves," he said.

Bayern Munich midfielder Thomas Muller has made the trip to Amsterdam, despite having a cold, meaning Low only has 18 fit players, including Sebastian Jung, Sven Bender and Lewis Holtby, who were all called up Monday.

Eintracht Frankfurt defender Jung is therefore in line for his Germany debut while Holtby could pick up his third cap, and they are certainly happy to be involved, according to Bierhoff.

Information from Press Association was used in this report.