Tuesday night’s Euro qualifiers saw the Netherlands thrash Gibraltar 6-0 in what was the perfect performance to round off this year’s international action. A hat-trick from Calvin Stengs put the game to bed, along with goals from Wieffer, Koopmeiners and Gakpo. But, for one player in particular, the match was an extra special landmark. Ajax defender Jorrel Hato became the fifth youngest player ever to play for the Netherlands at just 17 years and 259 days old.
Head coach Ronald Koeman brought Hato on from the bench during the start of the second half, giving the 2006-born teenager the time to find his feet and help his side see out the victory. Jorrel Hato’s inclusion in the senior Netherlands squad came as a surprise to some, seeing as though he wasn’t included in Koeman’s provisional squad. However, he’s featured in every single match for Ajax so far this season and he’s been one of their standout stars despite a difficult start to the campaign.
The youngest player to ever have played for the senior Netherlands team was Jan van Breda Kolff, who was just 17 years and 74 days old when he featured in a 3-1 victory over Belgium in 1911. Mauk Weber, Dé Kessler and Matthijs de Ligt are also ahead of Jorrel Hato on the list. Dutch journalist Bart Frouws reported that Jorrel Hato is so young that he’d be eligible to play for the Netherlands U21 squad at the European Championships in 2029.
