While the majority of the Newcastle United squad is off to Dubai for a warm weather training camp, Sven Botman is away on international duty.
Botman is one of five Newcastle first-team players who have been called up to represent their country, alongside Kieran Trippier, Alexander Isak, Jamal Lewis and Martin Dubravka.
It is quite the honour for Botman, who now has the chance to make his Netherlands debut. The 23-year-old has never made a senior appearance for his nation, but now has two opportunities to do just that.
Ronald Koeman’s side take on France and Gibraltar in two Euro 2024 qualifiers, as they look to book their place at the tournament in Germany next year.
Botman will hope that this is the beginning of a long association with the Netherlands national team, and he has been selected alongside an elite crop of defenders. The Newcastle centre-back will be playing alongside the likes of Virgil van Dijk, Nathan Ake and Matthijs de Ligt.
Sven Botman begins Netherlands training
With Netherlands’ first qualifier set to take place on Friday, the players are already being put through their paces.
Botman has uploaded a picture of himself in training to his official Instagram account, and has received multiple replies from his Toon teammates.
Sean Longstaff wrote ‘proud‘, while Jamal Lewis added ‘suits you‘ in response to the picture of Botman wearing his country’s badge.
There were also messages of support from Joe Willock, Callum Wilson, Alexander Isak and Matt Targett.
Botman’s Newcastle decision justified
Getting called up to the national team is a big moment for Botman, especially after what happened earlier in the season.
Back in September, the defender was called up to the Under-21s squad, but turned it down to focus on his club career. This came after a slow start to life at St James’ Park that saw him outside of Eddie Howe’s starting XI.
The decision did not go down well back home, with Botman heavily criticised for choosing club over country.
But since then he has been one of the Premier League’s best defenders, helping guide Newcastle to the Carabao Cup final and challenging for a place in the Champions League.
Botman massively deserves the chance to represent his country, and hopefully he makes his debut during the current international break. Although it is somewhat ironic that his Netherlands bow could come immediately after making a huge mistake during Newcastle’s win over Nottingham Forest.
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