The Netherlands have announced their provisional World Cup squad with it consisting of 39 players including, most notably, Xavi Simons.
FIFA required provisional selections to be submitted today before the final 26-man squads are chosen in a couple of weeks.
Any players that make it into those squads or are called up to replace members of it must have been in this provisional group, so Oranje manager Louis van Gaal opted to include 39 in it.
Among those 39 are Simons, Sven Botman and Jeremie Frimpong, three players that many have called for to be taken to Qatar given how good they’ve been for their clubs.
“It’s a long list and to be honest, that’s not my style,” said Van Gaal.
“But it is known that the players we choose for the final roster next month should already be on this preliminary list. Because no one can see into the future, you have to be prepared for possible setbacks, such as injuries.”
The final squad will be announced on November 11.
