Dutch coach Ronald Koeman recently expressed his confusion over UEFA’s restriction of 23 players for the European Championship, stating that it is insufficient.
Koeman commented, “It’s ridiculous to have only 23 players. I’ll lobby more people to protest because I know many national teams are unhappy. If you lose more than one player, you can’t do 11 vs 11 training sessions.”
UEFA requires final squads to be submitted by June 7, nine days before the Netherlands’ first Euro match, and no replacements can be made if players get injured after that.
“Considering the intensity and number of matches we play, I believe the number should be increased to 26. At this end of the season, we’ve already lost three injured players ahead of this international break. What if that happens before the Euros?”
“I’ve discussed this issue with Julian Nagelsmann, and he shares the same view. There are many other nations in a similar situation,” suggested Koeman, seemingly hoping for the German team’s coach to join him in protest.