Koeman called out for dropping in-form Man Utd star but De Ligt backed despite ‘bad’ error

Rafael van der Vaart has criticised Ronald Koeman’s decision to drop Joshua Zirkzee for Netherlands’ Nations League clash against Germany, while Matthijs de Ligt has been backed by the national team boss.

Manchester United forward Zirkzee, who was signed in a €42.5 million (£36.5m) deal from Bologna in the summer transfer window, scored his first senior international goal in his country’s 5-2 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina on Saturday evening.

But, despite his impressive performance in Eindhoven, Zirkzee will lose his place in attack for Netherlands’ match Germany in Amsterdam on Tuesday evening, with Koeman confirming that Ajax attacker Brian Brobbey will be handed a start instead.

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“Zirkzee did very well, but I discussed this with them beforehand,” Koeman said after his side’s victory against Bosnia and Herzegovina.

“I want to see both strikers from the start and the choice of why Joshua starts today and Brian on Tuesday is mainly to do with the opponent.

“We hope to be dangerous in the transition against Germany. I want to see them both but ultimately you want to have a regular striker.”

However, former Dutch internationals Van der Vaart and Pierre van Hooijdonk disagree with Koeman’s decision to drop Zirkzee for the big game against the Germans.

“It’s actually a shame that Koeman has already said that Brobbey will play against Germany because you are actually very curious to see how this duo [Zirkzee and Tijjani Reijnders] will do against a good opponent,” former Netherlands striker Van Hooijdonk said on NOS.

“What does Koeman gain from this?” Van der Vaart added.

“Imagine… Brobbey does great against a big country like Germany, or he does badly… I would just continue like this, I think. Why would you make a change?

“He has already said it, of course, and he will do what he has in mind. But it is almost a bit of a shame, of course.”

Koeman tips De Ligt to answer critics

Meanwhile, Koeman has revealed that United centre-back de Ligt will start the clash with Germany despite his error in the comfortable win over Bosnia and Herzegovina.

De Ligt was at fault for Bosnia and Herzegovina’s second goal as he failed to cut out a cross into a box which allowed Edin Dzeko to find the net from close range.

The centre-back, who moved to Old Trafford for a £38.5m fee from Bayern Munich over the summer, has faced calls to be dropped from the national side but Koeman feels the criticism of De Ligt has been “too dramatic”.

“We talked about it briefly. That was focused on the goal,” Koeman said of De Ligt’s mistake on Monday.

“He is not in a good position. He did not come out well with his steps.

“That was an individual bad moment from a defender. You have to learn from that but also not be too dramatic about it. Don’t put too much emphasis on it.

“He also had very good moments on the ball. That resulted in another big chance, when he played directly forward once. But it is clear that he also has to improve.”

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If they both come through the Germany game, Zirkzee and De Ligt will be pushing for United starts when Erik ten Hag’s men return to Premier League action at Southampton on Saturday.

The Red Devils currently sit 14th in the table after a win and two losses from their opening three outings.