Van Nistelrooy left off Netherlands squad

Ruud van Nistelrooy has been left off the Netherlands squad.

Coach Marco van Basten decided to omit striker van Nistelrooy and midfielder Mark van Bommel from the team that will face the Republic of Ireland in a friendly next Wednesday at Dublin.

Van Basten did not rule out a return for either of the former PSV Eindhoven players.
 
"At the moment we think other players are better," van Basten said. "We want to go on with the selected group because we have more trust in those players."

Both van Nistelrooy and van Bommel appear to be paying the price for poor performances in the World Cup. The Netherlands lost in the second round to Portugal. Van Nistelrooy was left on the bench for that match after severe criticism from van Basten.

Young Ajax sharpshooter Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, who is uncapped but whose omission from the World Cup squad still caused a stir, is named in the party and could make his bow for the Oranje senior team.