Advocaat starts new Curaçao cycle without Hansen at Nations League

Curaçao's national team coach, Dick Advocaat, confirmed on Monday at a press conference that 24-year-old striker Sontje Hansen has withdrawn himself from the internationals in the Nations League, and that he will have to focus on alternative options.

Hansen is said to be disappointed about the lack of playing time at the World Cup, where he only took part in half of the first group match against Germany. The 24-year-old striker has withdrawn himself from the internationals in the Nations League. He is a former NEC player and is currently being loaned by Middlesbrough to Giazantep FK.

‘We can only play with eleven. If you can’t live with that, you have to leave, that’s how it works in football,’ the 78-year-old The Hague native replied calmly. He continued: ‘He probably thought he should have played more, but he should have just done his best. It’s his decision, so I don’t have much trouble with it.’

Advocaat looks for new players

After the World Cup debut, Advocaat has plenty of new energy to build a new squad. He has already reached out to AZ prospects Ro‑Zangelo Daal and Elijah Dijkstra, but both want to wait or first get noticed by the Dutch national team.

Advocaat has also extended his contract by a year to see what else is possible. ‘They are great guys to work with,’ he said about the new selection.

The coach sees more and more players deliberately choosing Curaçao, now that the island has presented itself to the world with a qualification for the World Cup. He believes this will further raise the quality of the national team.

Curaçao starts Nations League

Curaçao begins this week the Nations League with matches against Costa Rica, Nicaragua and Trinidad & Tobago (twice). Through that route, tickets for the Gold Cup can also be obtained. ‘Everyone now thinks it’s easy, but it’s not easy at all’, said Advocaat.