PSV player Xavi Simons finally made his debut in the Dutch national team on Saturday. In the 83rd minute, the 19-year-old talent was allowed to enter the field for the Dutch national team in the match against the United States. The call to give Xavi Simons a place in the Dutch national team was great.
Many fans hoped that Simons would be sent on the field sooner. In the run-up to the last group game against Qatar, Van Gaal praised Simons’ developments, but he decided not to use him.
The fact that Simons did not play minutes earlier frustrated many fans. A man from Eindhoven tweeted on Tuesday before the game against Qatar that he would donate 0.50 cents per like to Amnesty International if Simons did not enter the field.
That Tweet yielded more than 17,000 likes. The anonymous Eindhoven resident has now started a crowdfunding campaign to fund the donation, which has already raised more than 5,500 euros.
Friday quarterfinals
Simons is the 51st player to play his first match for the Dutch national team under Louis van Gaal. Andries Noppert also made his debut for the Orange at this World Cup. He now has four international matches to his name.
The game against the United States ended in a 3-1 win for the Netherlands. The Netherlands will play against Argentina or Australia in the quarterfinals on Friday evening.