Nigel de Jong - International Career

International Career

On 31 March 2004, De Jong made his debut with the Netherlands in a friendly game against France. He was overlooked for the squad that went to play in UEFA Euro 2004, and missed the 2006 FIFA World Cup with a knee injury.

He was selected by Marco van Basten to play for De Oranje at UEFA Euro 2008. During the tournament, he was played as a "screening midfielder", partnering with Orlando Engelaar in central midfield. This resulted in De Jong playing three out of the four games that saw Holland reach the quarter finals stage with the Dutch team finally exiting the competition through an extra-time defeat by Russia.

He scored his first international goal against Iceland on 6 June 2009 in a 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying match, which sealed the Netherlands' passage to the 2010 World Cup.

De Jong was part of the Dutch team for the 2010 FIFA World Cup managed by Bert van Marwijk. The player was in the starting line-up for their first match in the competition, a 2–0 victory over Denmark. He was suspended in the semi final against Uruguay after receiving his second yellow card of the tournament in the Netherlands' quarter-final win over Brazil. He played in the Final of the competition which the Netherlands lost 1–0 to Spain after extra time. De Jong was part of the Netherlands UEFA Euro 2012 squad.

Scores list Netherlands' tally first.

Nigel de Jong: international goals
# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 6 June 2009 Laugardalsvöllur, Reykjavík, Iceland Iceland
1 – 0
2 – 1
2010 FIFA World Cup qualification

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