ZEIST (DA) — AZ teammates Ro-Zangelo Daal and Elijah Dijkstra, two players with Curaçao roots, have been named to the Netherlands Under-21 squad for its final three European Championship qualifiers against Norway, Slovenia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The pair are among eight AZ players selected by coach Michael Reiziger for the upcoming international window.
Daal, a 22-year-old winger born in Amsterdam, has family roots in Curaçao and has previously been approached about representing the Curaçao national team. He has continued his international career in the Netherlands setup and has said that reaching the senior Oranje team remains his ambition.
Dijkstra, a 20-year-old right back born in Assendelft, is also of Curaçao descent. He has represented the Netherlands at several youth levels and was part of the Dutch squad that won the 2025 UEFA European Under-19 Championship before progressing to Jong Oranje.
Both remain in Reiziger’s squad as the Netherlands enters the final stretch of qualifying for the 2027 European Under-21 Championship.
The Netherlands will host Norway on Sept. 25 at De Adelaarshorst in Deventer, with kickoff at 6:30 p.m. Jong Oranje then travels to Maribor to face Slovenia on Oct. 2 at Stadion Ljudski Vrt before closing its qualifying campaign against Bosnia and Herzegovina on Oct. 6 at De Vijverberg in Doetinchem.
Ruud Nijstad of FC Twente, Lewis Schouten of AZ and Sean Steur of Newcastle United are the three first-time selections in the 24-player squad.
The 2027 European Under-21 Championship will be jointly hosted by Albania and Serbia. The two host nations qualify automatically, with the remaining 14 places decided through qualifying and the playoffs.