On the 18th, the Dutch Football Association (KNVB) announced that two players would no longer be part of the national team.

The two players who were pulled out are defender Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool/England) and midfielder Frenkie de Jong (Barcelona/Spain). Both players started in the UEFA Nations League (UNL) League A Group 3 Round 5 match against Hungary on the 16th local time, which the team won 4-0. Van Dijk played the full game, while de Jong, who returned to the national team for the first time since September last year, was on the pitch until the 68th minute.

Ronald Koeman, the manager of the Dutch national team, commented on the withdrawal of the two players, saying, "We decided that it would be better for both Frenkie and Virgil to leave the training camp for now." The decision was made on medical grounds and, of course, in the best interests of the players. There aren't any plans to call up any extra players at the moment, so the team will go into the final round of League A Group 3 with 23 players.

The two players are leaving the Netherlands national team early and heading back to their respective clubs, Liverpool and Barcelona. Van Dijk has played in 15 official matches so far this season, scoring two goals and providing one assist. He's been supporting the team, which is doing well under manager Arne Sloot, from the sidelines. De Jong made a comeback in October after a long injury absence and has played in seven official matches so far.

The Netherlands national team is currently in second place behind Germany in UNL League A Group 3, and has already qualified for the quarter-finals before the final match against Bosnia and Herzegovina.