Van der Vaart out, Maher in Dutch squad for World Cup qualifiers

Email|Print|Comments       twitter     facebook     Sina Microblog     reddit    

Rafael van der Vaart on Tuesday left the Dutch training camp in Katwijk with a hamstring injury.

He will miss the FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Estonia and Andorra.

Coach Louis van Gaal decided to call up PSV midfielder Adam Maher as replacement. On Monday, Van Gaal named Wesley Sneijder as replacement for injured PSV midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum.

Due to the injuries, Sneijder can suddenly expect a starting place in Friday's qualifier against Estonia, while the Galatasaray midfielder was initially left out of the squad due to fitness reasons, just like he missed the friendly against Portugal on Aug. 14.

Ahead of the trip to Indonesia and China in June this year, Van Gaal replaced Sneijder as first captain by Manchester United striker Robin van Persie. The head coach wanted Sneijder to get fully fit first.

Last Friday Van Gaal explained his reasons not to call him up again for the forthcoming matches. "I don't help Wesley by calling him up, because I think he can better follow the program at his club," said Van Gaal. "He still has to improve his fitness."

The Netherlands will play Estonia on Sept. 6 in Tallinn and Andorra on Sept. 10 in Andorra la Vella. If the Dutch team win both matches they will qualify for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

• Zambian striker Mbesuma to attend World Cup qualifier against Ghana
• Morocco held to scoreless draw in WC qualifier against Togo
• Kenya defeats Mozambique 2-1 in World Cup qualifier

We Recommend

• Mexican president delivers first State of Nation address
• Highlights of MAKS 2013 Int'l Aviation and Space Show
• 10th China-ASEAN Expo opens in Nanning
• Baby born to save his sister - the story of a savior sibling
• Lady of mystery: Female SWAT team in prison disclosed
• Single mother, baby live in KFC restaurant for months
• Fan Bingbing poses for Malaysian magazine Citta Bella
• Zhang Xinyi covers COSMOPOLITAN
• A collection of bizarre rooftop buildings around China