Netherlands striker Meerdink injured two days into first call-up

AMSTERDAM: Striker Mexx Meerdink has withdrawn from the Netherlands squad for this week’s World Cup qualifiers against Malta and Finland, the Dutch football association said on Tuesday, after he suffered an injury two days into his first call-up. The 22-year-old from AZ Alkmaar will not be replaced, it added, even though Memphis Depay was late arriving from Brazil after his passport went missing. Coach Ronald Koeman has already said Depay would not start against Malta away on Thursday, leaving Donyell Malen as the likely first-choice striker for the game at Ta’Qali.

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