West Ham United winger Crysencio Summerville has been left out of the Dutch XI for their World Cup matchday two clash against Sweden in Houston.
Last week, as the Netherlands played out a tight and intriguing 2-2 draw with Japan, Summerville marked his third Oranje cap with a goal.
The former Leeds winger channeled his inner-Arjen Robben in a largely unfamiliar right-sided role. Shortly after Japan cancelled out Virgil van Dijk’s opener, West Ham United’s number seven cut inside and curled a laser-guided finish into the far corner with his weaker left foot.
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The expectation, then, was that Crysencio Summerville would keep his place in Ronald Koeman’s XI against a Sweden outfit full of confidence following their 5-1 thrashing of Tunisia.
So eyebrows were raised when it emerged that Summerville is only among the substitutes.
West Ham United’s Crysencio Summerville left out of the Dutch XI
Sunderland’s powerhouse number nine Brian Brobbey starts instead. Donyell Malen moves out to the right with Cody Gakpo on the left.
Speaking to NOS, Koeman explains that his reshuffle is partly borne out of tactical reasons and partly because of a knock Summerville picked up in training.
“We need to offer more offensively. The spaces will be small again, so Brobbey is more of a focal point than Donyell Malen,” Koeman says, handing a first World Cup start to a centre-forward best known for his elite back-to-goal play.
“[Brobbey starting] is also to allow Donyell to play a bit more centrally, so that [rampaging right-back] Dumfries can play higher up on the right.
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“We were more than satisfied with Cry [against Japan],” the former Barcelona, Everton and Southampton boss clarifies. “He has also had some physical complaints in the last few days, so I prefer not to start him.
“He stopped training early on Thursday, so we are not taking any unnecessary risks.”
In matchday one, Summerville became only the sixth to score a World Cup goal while under contract at West Ham. He joined Martin Peters, Geoff Hurst, Javier Hernandez, Lucas Paqueta and Matthew Upson in a very exclusive club.
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