AMSTERDAM, June 1 (Reuters) - Netherlands record scorer Memphis Depay said he never doubted he would make his country’s World Cup squad despite concerns he would not be fit in time.
The 32-year-old, who has scored 55 goals for the Dutch national team and competed at the 2014 and 2022 World Cups, returned to action last week for his Brazilian club Corinthians after a thigh injury kept him out since March.
“I’d rather be talking about something else myself,” Depay told reporters at the Dutch training camp in Zeist.
“I completely understand why you're asking about it but personally, I never really doubted that I would make it. My recovery took longer than it should have, that's true. A few things didn't go as they should have, which I don't want to go into now, but I always knew it would work out. The injury wasn't that serious after all,” he added.
Brazilian media claimed in April that there had been mistakes made in the striker’s rehabilitation programme, setting back his recovery, but Depay did not want to comment.
“I arrived here fit and without any complaints, which is a good sign for me. I worked on it every single day,” he said.
“I trained extremely hard. In Brazil, we sometimes spend two hours on the training pitch, which is different from what I was used to in Europe. So I arrived here in good shape.”
Depay has played 29 minutes as a substitute and then 45 minutes as a starter in two outings for Corinthians since March and will be looking to gain match fitness during the Netherlands’ two World Cup warm-up games against Algeria in Rotterdam on Wednesday and Uzbekistan in New York next Monday.
“In the end, I still have two matches, and we train a lot. That also gives me the opportunity to show the coach how fit I am.”
Depay, who has 108 caps, said that the Netherlands are not among the top favourites for the World Cup, where they meet Japan, Sweden and Tunisia in their first round group, but said few countries would relish facing the Dutch.
“We need not pretend we’re the best team in the world, but we know we have our strengths and that we’re always competitive. The belief is always there when we go to a major tournament,” said Depay.
“I’ve played in two World Cups and unfortunately lost on penalties twice (against Argentina in 2014 and 2022). Maybe this time it might go our way instead,” he added.
(Writing by Mark Gleeson in Cape Town; Editing by Pritha Sarkar)
