Van Basten trims Dutch Euro squad

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AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Netherlands coach Marco van Basten dropped four players on Friday from his provisional squad for next month’s European Championship finals.

Midfielder Hedwiges Maduro, defenders Urby Emanuelson and Kew Jaliens and forward Danny Koevermans were left out when van Basten trimmed his squad to 25 players, the official Dutch Football Association Web site www.knvb.nl said.

The quartet join AC Milan veteran Clarence Seedorf, who withdrew on Tuesday from van Basten’s original list of 30 for personal reasons, in no longer being in the reckoning for the definitive squad of 23.

Van Basten will name official squad for the June 7-29 tournament in Austria and Switzerland on May 28, the deadline date.

The bulk of the squad will assemble on May 20 with several exceptions due to club commitments.

Goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar will play for Manchester United against Chelsea in the Champions League final in Moscow on May 21 and Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Wesley Sneijder and Arjen Robben are still involved in the run-in to the Scottish and Spanish league championships.

Sevilla defender Khalid Boulahrouz, who missed a major part of the season through injuries, will also be present on May 20 to undergo a fitness test.

The Dutch will play warm-up friendlies against Ukraine on May 24, Denmark on May .....continued below

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They face world champions Italy, 2006 World Cup runners-up France and Romania in Euro Group C.

Squad:

Goalkeepers: Edwin van der Sar (Manchester United), Maarten Stekelenburg (Ajax Amsterdam), Henk Timmer (Feyenoord), Sander Boschker (Twente Enschede)

Defenders: Wilfred Bouma (Aston Villa), Tim de Cler (Feyenoord), John Heitinga (Ajax), Joris Mathijsen (SV Hamburg), Mario Melchiot (Wigan Athletic), Andre Ooijer (Blackburn Rovers)

Midfielders: Ibrahim Afellay (PSV Eindhoven), Giovanni van Bronckhorst (Feyenoord), Orlando Engelaar (Twente Enschede), Nigel de Jong (SV Hamburg), Denny Landzaat (Feyenoord), Wesley Sneijder (Real Madrid), Rafael van der Vaart (SV Hamburg), Demy de Zeeuw (AZ Alkmaar)

Forwards: Ryan Babel (Liverpool), Klaas Jan Huntelaar (Ajax), Dirk Kuyt (Liverpool), Ruud van Nistelrooy (Real Madrid), Robin van Persie (Arsenal), Arjen Robben (Real Madrid), Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink (Celtic)

(Reporting by Theo Ruizenaar, editing by Rex Gowar)