Kluivert Jr: I m happy to start for the Netherlands, I can contribute in terms of movement without the ball

On November 15, in the European preliminaries of the World Cup, the Netherlands drew 1-1 with Poland in an away game. Dutch player Justin Kluivert started as the midfielder and accepted interviews with the media after the game.

When did you know you would start?

Two days before the competition, we will conduct targeted training. So I knew right then, I was super happy. There will be some players wearing the starting lineup during training, usually those who are in the starting lineup, which is of course a good feeling.

Has Koeman explained why you started the game instead of Reinders?

He didn’t specifically explain why I was the starter. It was just the coach’s choice. The situation may be different next time. I think the players in the team are all very close in level. Such competition within the team is only good for the team spirit. The coach will also have players with different characteristics to choose from.

What can you bring to the Dutch midfielder? Things that other players don't have?

When I played with De Jong and Hrafenberch - who are very good with the ball - we were able to attack from the back and I probably contributed more in terms of movement without the ball, although I felt like I was less successful in that aspect today. The game will indeed be more difficult against teams that use five at the back. My role is to move more without the ball and create space for my teammates. There is also defense without the ball, but today I felt that my performance was average. This game is a bit of an exploratory stage, but I think I can contribute to the team in this regard.