Netherlands striker Joshua Zirkzee was just starting his holiday at Walt Disney World in Florida when he got the call up to join the Dutch Euro 2024 squad.
The Netherlands are battling a growing injury list with both Frenkie de Jong and Teun Koopmeiners ruled out of the competition on the eve of the tournament.
Ronald Koeman opted to call up Ian Maatsen on Tuesday, and has now turned to Zirkzee to fill the other free spot in the squad. Maatsen was on vacation in Mykonos with his girlfriend when he was summoned Koeman to replace De Jong.
“I suddenly received a call,” he added on Thursday. “And I just had to pack my stuff as quickly as possible and come.”
Maatsen was on loan at Borussia Dortmund from Chelsea in the recently completed season and helped the German club reach the Champions League final, where they lost to Real Madrid on June 1.
He was named in UEFA Champions League team of the season and will give Koeman an extra option on the left flank, where he is set to challenge Daley Blind for a starting spot.
“I did enjoy my holiday and processed everything well, including the disappointment of the Champions League final,” he said.
Zirkzee, 23, is on Manchester United’s radar ahead of the summer transfer window, sources have told ESPN, and he will have a chance to showcase his skillset in this summer’s Euros after originally been left out of the Dutch squad.
He showed his surprise at the call-up on his Instagram profile, where it went from him entering Walt Disney World — with the tag “Happy Me” — to then being informed he had to fly from Florida to Germany to link up with the Dutch squad.
Zirkzee’s inclusion comes as the Dutch sweat on Brian Brobbey‘s hamstring injury.
Brobbey, 22, had an MRI after leaving Tuesday’s session. Though the MRI came back with positive news, Zirkzee arrives as cover.
Zirkzee missed the last two matches in Bologna’s season with a hamstring injury, and Ronald Koeman left him out of the squad, saying he was only going to take fully fit players.
But Zirkzee now gets his chance at the Euros.
The Netherlands open their Euro 2024 campaign on Sunday against Poland in Hamburg.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.