BY OSABUOHIEN VIVIAN ROSE
Memphis Depay, 31, top goal scorer for the Netherlands, will be late joining up with the squad for their upcoming World Cup qualifiers due to his stolen passport.
Netherlands coach Ronald Koeman said the Corinthians forward would join the rest of the squad once he received proper documentation to replace his passport, which Depay said had been stolen in Brazil.
“This is unfortunate, primarily for Memphis, but also for us,” Koeman said. “You naturally want to start your international preparations with a full squad. At the same time, there are circumstances beyond our control. We hope he can indeed travel to join us at the training camp as soon as possible.”
Koeman’s team visit Malta on Thursday and host Finland on Sunday. Netherlands are tied with Poland in Group G on 10 points in the qualifying table, but have played one less game.
