Advocaat to reinstate Sneijder for Netherlands
Wesley Sneijder remains a key figure for Netherlands and will start versus Luxembourg on Friday, Dick Advocaat confirmed.
Netherlands boss Dick Advocaat has confirmed Wesley Sneijder will feature from the start in Friday's World Cup qualifier against Luxembourg.
The Galatasaray playmaker found himself on the periphery under previous coach Danny Blind and caretaker boss Fred Grim, while a number of pundits have questioned the 32-year-old's fitness levels in recent weeks.
However, Advocaat is adamant Sneijder remains a key figure for Oranje.
"I have seen Sneijder in action for Galatasaray all season," the former Fenerbahce coach stated at a news conference ahead of his first game on the bench since his return.
"He was Galatasaray's best player in my opinion - and probably the best player around in the Turkish top flight, which is a very difficult league.
"So I can already reveal that Sneijder will be part of the starting XI on Friday.
"That is how I feel about him."
Get FourFourTwo Newsletter
The best features, fun and footballing quizzes, straight to your inbox every week.
Sneijder will become Netherlands' most-capped player with his appearance against Luxembourg, having equalled Edwin van der Sar's figure of 130 games for Oranje in the 5-0 win over Ivory Coast at the weekend.
‘Scoring in a World Cup is like winning the title – can you imagine millions of people celebrating something you did? It’s insane and made me very proud’: Brazil legend explains how much 2002 goal meant to him
'He already had the ability but didn’t use it because he was afraid to shoot – I said, "You’re a player who has to decide games – you have to take risks, mate"': Liverpool star was forced to become confident by team-mates