Van Nistelrooy left out of Dutch squad again

Ruud van Nistelrooy was again left out of the Dutch squad yesterday when coach Marco van Basten named his 22 players for the Euro 2008 qualifiers against Bulgaria and Albania.

The Real Madrid striker hit out at Van Basten earlier this week, saying he had been dropped from the post-World Cup squads for reasons other than footballing ones.

Van Basten said it was not the end of Van Nistelrooy's international career. "Now it is up to him to prove we are wrong," the Dutch coach said.

Van Nistelrooy was dropped after the World Cup together with Mark van Bommel, although the latter makes his comeback after missing three matches.

"Mark (Van Bommel) is doing well at Bayern Munich where he plays more regularly than he did at Barcelona," Van Basten said of his decision to recall Van Bommel.

The Dutch are top of Group G with six points after two matches, two above Romania and Bulgaria. They play in Bulgaria on October 7 and Albania at home four days later.