Source: REUTERS/Piroschka Van De Wouw
[Saba Sports News] Dutch media outlets have reported that Ian Mattson received a call-up from the Dutch Football Association to replace an injured player while he was vacationing in Greece. After Frenkie de Jong withdrew from the European Championship due to an injury, the Dutch Football Association sought to bolster its squad with Mattson. The 22-year-old was in the midst of a weeklong holiday on the Greek island of Mykonos when he received the unexpected phone call asking if he was willing to participate in the European Championship. The call came shortly after De Jong’s withdrawal, throwing Mattson’s summer plans into disarray. Subsequently, the Dutch Football Association arranged for an emergency flight to Dortmund for Mattson. The only hitch was that Mattson’s football gear and boots were not with him; they were instead at his parents’ home in the Netherlands. Hence, Mattson’s parents made an early morning drive to Dortmund on Tuesday, bringing along his familiar Adidas sneakers, ensuring that the Dutch national team player arrived at the team’s rendezvous point in Wolfsburg on time.