Manchester City star Tijjani Reijnders has admitted he had been left frustrated at being left out by the Netherlands.
[Voetbal Primeur cover comments](https://www.voetbalprimeur.nl/nieuws/1713015/reijnders-na-oranje-reserverol-ik-was-getergd.html) from the Manchester City midfielder today. He’s found himself out of the picture for the Netherlands of late.
Despite starring at the Etihad, he does not appear to be a shoo-in for the Dutch under Ronald Koeman. That’s been evidenced since the October break, when he only managed 45 minutes against Finland.
He then followed that with just 16 minutes with Poland four days ago, before coming back in for 90 minutes in the 4-0 win over Lithuania. He bagged a goal and an assist in that game. And he admits he wanted to prove a point.
“I was a bit irritated, yes,” he said.
“I really want to play, and that’s why I wanted to show myself today. It felt a bit like I had to pause for a moment. I was definitely extra eager, yes. You want to make your mark right away, especially since I didn’t start the last match. I wanted to show my best today.”
Manchester City player needs to make it difficult for Koeman
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Koeman has a difficult decision to make when it comes to the Manchester City man. He’s one midfield option in a Dutch midfield pack with talent.
Who the Dutch manager chooses, particularly ahead of the World Cup, remains to be seen. Reijnders certainly isn’t making the choice an easy one given his performances for Manchester City so far. And he admits he’s happy to make things difficult.
“If you look at the squad, we have a very broad squad with players who all play at a very high level,” he added.
“So, it can happen that you end up on the bench. It was up to me to show why I deserve to be in the starting lineup, in my opinion. It’s good that the national coach is having a hard time with the decisions he has to make.”