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<P class=big>Ruud van Nistelrooy has admitted he was shocked to be dropped from the Holland squad for this week's friendly with Republic of Ireland.
The Real Madrid new boy was a surprise omission from Marco van Basten's squad for the trip to Dublin.
Van Basten has opted to give youth a chance with the likes of Ajax youngster Klaas Jan Huntelaar getting an opportunityto impress.
Van Nistelrooy, who was left on the bench for the World Cup defeat to Portugal, has expressed his unhappiness at being left out of the Dutch set-up.
"I was unpleasantly surprised," said van Nistelrooy. "It's obvious Van Basten prefers to continue with young players.
"In this group, only goalie Edwin van der Sar is older. At the moment, I can live with this choice."
Van Basten has defended his decision to leave experienced players out of his squad and look at new faces.
"At this point, we think these players are better," said van Basten. "Now that we have started our preparation for the European Championship, we have again chosen 18 players in whom we have the most faith.
"For the time being, we want to continue with this group. They will have an opportunity to convince us.
"Huntelaar is progressing steadily. He had a good season with Ajax, won the Under-21 tournament and now he keeps on scoring in international matches."
The Real Madrid new boy was a surprise omission from Marco van Basten's squad for the trip to Dublin.
Van Basten has opted to give youth a chance with the likes of Ajax youngster Klaas Jan Huntelaar getting an opportunityto impress.
Van Nistelrooy, who was left on the bench for the World Cup defeat to Portugal, has expressed his unhappiness at being left out of the Dutch set-up.
"I was unpleasantly surprised," said van Nistelrooy. "It's obvious Van Basten prefers to continue with young players.
"In this group, only goalie Edwin van der Sar is older. At the moment, I can live with this choice."
Van Basten has defended his decision to leave experienced players out of his squad and look at new faces.
"At this point, we think these players are better," said van Basten. "Now that we have started our preparation for the European Championship, we have again chosen 18 players in whom we have the most faith.
"For the time being, we want to continue with this group. They will have an opportunity to convince us.
"Huntelaar is progressing steadily. He had a good season with Ajax, won the Under-21 tournament and now he keeps on scoring in international matches."