Jan Paul van Hecke was handed even more incentive to make the Netherlands squad after the draw for the Euro 2024 finals was made over the weekend.
Ronald Koeman’s men will face France, Austria and the winner of the qualifying group that includes Wales in Germany next summer. Albion’s Dutch defender is confident that they can progress and he would love to be involved.
“It would be a dream,” he said. “I saw the draw and it was a good one – good teams, but I think the Netherlands can beat them. We have enough quality to go through whether I’m in or not.
“Otherwise I’ll be watching. So I’m looking forward to it, if I’m playing or spectating. I love the Euros.”
🦁 De EK-loting voor @OnsOranje is bekend! Frankrijk, Oostenrijk en de winnaar van play-offs A zijn in de groepsfase de tegenstanders van Oranje. 🇳🇱#EURO2024 pic.twitter.com/fEulC61reF
— KNVB (@KNVB) December 2, 2023
He also enjoyed seeing Billy Gilmour’s Scotland come out of the draw against Pascal Gross’s Germany, the hosts, in the tournament opener.
“The first game! I’ll maybe be in the stadium, but if not then certainly watching on the telly.” Who will he be supporting in that one? “Definitely neutral!”
For now, JP is concentrating on helping the team return to winning ways against Brentford on Wednesday after the weekend’s 105-minute marathon 3-2 defeat at Chelsea.
“The game kept going, and going, but we had everything to play for and we went for a point and maybe for more,” he said.
“Not to get anything really feels a bit unfair in one way but at the same time deserved because we gave two easy goals away and we shouldn’t concede like that.
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“Of course, two wins in a week [away to Nottingham Forest and AEK Athens] is good, really good. And on Sunday we could have had another one but we didn’t, so it doesn’t feel great.
“Chelsea have a lot of very good players when you look at their individuals but I felt that as a team we were better on the ball and we had control. We created enough chances to win, but it didn’t happen.
“It was a really hard battle and a lot went on out on the pitch, penalties, red cards, moments when there could have been penalties so you can see it meant a lot to both sides. It was a tough game for everyone.”
The Brentford game represents yet another midweek challenge in an already full fixture list, but JP is relishing the chance to get a Premier League victory at the Amex.
“It’s time to recover and go again on Wednesday,” he said. “It’s a positive to have a game so soon after a defeat and we’re looking forward to it, even though it’s hard to play every three days.
“Everyone is gutted after Chelsea but let’s go again and get three points.”