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Brutal Matthijs de Ligt verdict speaks volumes as Man Utd star axed from national team

Matthijs de Ligt has been left out of the Netherlands squad for the upcoming international break, with the Manchester United defender seemingly paying the price for his the club's recent struggles

[Matthijs De Ligt ]

Matthijs de Ligt has been left out of the latest Netherlands squad(Image: Joris Verwijst/BSR Agency/Getty Images)

Manchester United defender Matthijs de Ligt has been dropped from Ronald Koeman's Netherlands squad for the upcoming set of international fixtures.

De Ligt has been a mainstay in United's backline this season, featuring in all seven of their Premier League matches. Yet despite regaining his form at Old Trafford of late, Netherlands boss Koeman has omitted the towering centre back from his squad for the upcoming international window.

This decision arrives a little over a year after De Ligt faced significant backlash for his performances with the national team. During a 2-2 stalemate against Germany in September 2024, the United star was heavily criticised for being directly involved in both goals conceded.

For Germany's opener, he surrendered possession deep in his own half, allowing Deniz Undav to draw level. Later, a failed clearance from the defender enabled Joshua Kimmich to put Germany ahead.

As a result, Koeman substituted him at half-time, bringing on Brighton's Jan Paul van Hecke in his place. Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk was among those who addressed De Ligt's struggles, criticising his defensive decision-making.

"This is football. You have to learn from this," the Dutch skipper said at the time. "It was one moment but at the highest level you will get punished for it."

[Matthijs de Ligt heading the ball]

Despite several strong individual performances, De Ligt has had a tough couple of years, both domestically and internationally(Image: Getty Images)

Koeman echoed his captain's assessment, acknowledging that while he preferred to keep De Ligt on the pitch, he felt compelled to withdraw him. "Of course I would rather have kept Matthijs de Ligt on the pitch," he said.

"It just looks like he is now in a period where all his mistakes are being punished. I gave him a new chance today, but eventually protected him by taking him off."

Although his international form has been under scrutiny, De Ligt will believe he has turned a corner over the past year, producing several strong displays for United. However, the 26-year-old will not get the chance to showcase his improvement for the Netherlands this time around and will continue training at Carrington instead.

[Matthijs De Ligt of Holland, Virgil van Dijk of Holland, Nathan Ake ]

Virgil van Dijk slammed De Ligt's performances for his country in 2024(Image: ANP via Getty Images)

That absence gives De Ligt more time to focus on domestic matters, especially after he recently challenged his team-mates to step up and support under-fire manager Ruben Amorim. Following a 3-1 defeat to Brentford, the defender admitted the squad is short on belief and needs to respond - but insisted responsibility doesn't rest solely with the manager.

"Of course, I mean it's always easy to look to the manager, but in the end the players on the pitch have to do it," he said. "We can't say the goals we conceded, or the chances we conceded, are because of what I don't know, you guys always talk about the system.

"That also has a lot to do with focus, concentration and, if that's lacking in key moments, it's going to make a difference."

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