Janssen puts immediate end to international career ‘for personal reasons’
NOS Football–
Vincent Janssen is putting a stop to his international career. The 28-year-old striker has indicated to national coach Ronald Koeman that he is no longer available for Oranje “for personal reasons in combination with the increasingly full soccer calendar.”
Janssen was in the pre-selection for the European Championship qualifiers with France and Gibraltar later this month. He played a total of 22 international matches, in which he scored seven goals.
The Royal Antwerp FC player made his debut for Oranje under national coach Danny Blind in March 2016, then as an AZ striker, in a 2-3 lost practice match against France. Janssen then substituted in the closing stages for Luuk de Jong, who also quit as an international earlier this month.
“My focus is now 100 percent on Royal Antwerp FC and from now on I am and will remain a supporter of Oranje,” Janssen wrote on social media. The Brabander, who scored seven goals in 22 international matches, speaks of “a difficult decision” he has had to make.
“Saturday I asked the national coach and the KNVB not to call me up for the Dutch national team in the future. They responded understandingly and I really appreciated that. People who know me know that playing for my country was a dream and I still find that a great honor.”
‘Fuller and busier’
Janssen says he is quitting because the soccer calendar is “getting fuller and busier.” “If I’m honest with myself, I have to come to the conclusion that this is having more and more impact.” In consultation with his family and friends, Janssen made the “considered decision” to quit. The striker was among national coach Ronald Koeman’s provisional selection for the next two European Championship qualifiers.
Out of the picture and back again
Janssen played regularly for the first two years after his debut, then he dropped out of the picture at Oranje. In the meantime, he traded AZ for Tottenham Hotspur, but his stay in London was not a success.
Janssen returned to the Dutch national team selection last year after years of absence. National coach Louis van Gaal also took him to the World Cup, where he played his last minutes in the Orange shirt as a substitute in the group match against Qatar.
