National coach Ronald Koeman of the Dutch national team gets his. The 24 participants in the European Championship in Germany may include a maximum of 26 players in the final selection. Initially, UEFA limited it to 23 players, much to Koeman’s dissatisfaction. The UEFA technical committee will change tack after a workshop on the European Championship, it is reported The Telegraph. The executive committee of the European Football Association still has to officially approve the proposal to go to 26 players, but that is only a formality.
Koeman spoke clearly in conversation with the coach last month immediately after the friendly match against Germany (2-1 loss). NOS. “I just think you should be able to select 26 players. I find it absurd… You see so many injuries in all countries. You’re going to the end of the season. With a squad of 23 men, if one is missing you can no longer play eleven-a-side in training,” sighed the national coach.
European Championship selections are expanded to 26 players
“You can substitute the goalkeeper in the event of an injury, but not a player. With the intensity and the number of matches you are going to play, I just think you should go to 26. We started this period with 26 players and we are now with 22. On June 7 you have to make the final list for the European Championship. That’s nine days before the first match. If something happens in those nine days, what then?” Koeman concluded.
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From the 2002 World Cup, European and World Cup selections consisted of 23 players per country, but this was changed due to the corona pandemic. National coaches were allowed to select 26 players for the 2021 European Championship and the 2022 World Cup. Because the pandemic is now over, UEFA initially decided that the number of players will decrease again next summer by three.
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The expansion to 26 players does not mean that more players are allowed to sit on the bench during the matches at the European Championship. UEFA will announce at a later stage whether 23 or 26 names will appear on the scoresheet, or whether national coaches will be given the choice to exchange staff members for players during matches. However, the European Football Association will impose some conditions: there is a considerable price tag on expanding the selections. UEFA has committed itself to providing financial compensation to the employers of the European Championship participants.
