The Netherlands concluded their Group D campaign against Austria at Euro 2024 knowing they were already destined for the knockout phase.
They began with a narrow victory over Poland, Ronald Koeman's side falling behind to Adam Buksa's early goal in Hamburg before Cody Gakpo leveled with a deflected strike before supersub Wout Weghorst snatched a 2-1 triumph.
A 0-0 draw with France followed, and that result, combined with scores from other groups, meant they were guaranteed a place in the Round of 16 regardless of their eventual 3-2 defeat against Austria.
The 1988 winners defeated Romania and Turkey in the knockout stages and now need to beat England in the semis to reach the final.
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Their run has been made all the more impressive given the Oranje are without one of their key players.
Frenkie de Jong has been a mainstay for the Netherlands since emerging at Ajax and won the first of his 54 international caps in September 2018, in the aftermath of his national missing out on that year’s World Cup in Russia.
Three successive major tournament qualifications have followed, so where is the 27-year-old Barcelona star as Koeman’s men bid for glory in Germany?
What happened to Frenkie de Jong? Why isn’t Barcelona midfielder at Euro 2024?
De Jong’s 2023/24 season was beset by injuries. He was restricted to just 20 LaLiga appearances with Barcelona.
Shortly before halftime in the Blaugrana’s 3-2 Clasico defeat to bitter rivals Real Madrid on April 21, De Jong made way with his third ankle setback of the campaign. He has not played competitive football since.
Although he joined up with his Netherlands teammates and featured in Koeman’s provisional squad for Euro 2024, he left the camp after their concluding 4-0 warmup win over Iceland.
"He won't be fit enough to play at this level for the next three weeks," Koeman said. "There's no point keeping him with us."
A statement from the Dutch FA (KNVB) on de Jong’s condition said tests carried out "showed that the ankle is not yet sufficiently resilient”.
What injuries do the Netherlands have at Euro 2024?
De Jong’s absence is compounded by the fact Koeman is also missing other senior midfield options.
Marteen de Roon suffered a muscle injury during Atalanta’s 1-0 defeat to Juventus in the final of the Coppa Italia. It meant he missed La Dea’s Europa League triumph over Bayer Leverkusen, and he did not recover in time to make the party for Germany.
In the warmup before the Iceland friendly, De Roon’s fellow Atalanta midfielder Teen Koopmeiners suffered a groin injury that ruled him out of Euro 2024.
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Who has replaced Frenkie de Jong for the Netherlands?
AC Milan midfielder Tijani Reijnders took De Jong’s place in the Dutch starting lineup and retained it for the first match against Poland.
The 25-year-old playmaker impressed and had a hand in Weghorst’s winner against Poland. Speaking to the media ahead of the France game, he was certainly not overawed by filling De Jong’s shoes again on such a big stage.
"They played a bit like I thought they would,” he said of Les Bleus’ opening 1-0 win over Austria, a match that has become most notable for Kylian Mbappe suffering a broken nose."
Xavi Simons played as the No. 10 against France and saw a goal controversially disallowed for offside, but Koeman restored Reijnders for the Austria game.
