Driessen: Dutch FA intentionally risked De Jong's participation in FIFA World Cup

Dutch journalist Valentine Driessen believes the Dutch Football Association has deliberately taken the risk of including Frenkie de Jong in the FIFA World Cup 2026, despite him suffering from a knee injury.

According to Driesen, De Jong, in coordination with former coach Ronald and the national team's medical staff, made the decision to continue playing despite the injury, relying on painkillers. The FC Barcelona player participated in matches against Sweden, Tunisia, and Morocco, playing 110 minutes against Morocco.

However, the situation later turned out to be more serious than initially thought, as tests conducted on De Jong in FC Barcelona revealed a tear in the medial ligament of his right knee. The player confirmed that the doctors in the national team initially informed him that the injury was minor and that continuing to play would not exacerbate it.

Driessen pointed out that the medical staff at FC Barcelona were not satisfied with the way the Dutch federation handled the player's injury, considering that the interests linked to participating in a major tournament like the FIFA World Cup could influence the decisions of the technical and medical staff.