This newsitem has been supplied by PSV.nl
Ibrahim Afellay reported for duty with the Dutch team in Noordwijk on Tuesday. Most of the players of the Dutch squad met at Grand Hotel Huis ter Duin to kick off Euro 2008 preparations. The first training session is scheduled for 17:30. Some players will report for duty later this week.
Ruud van Nistelrooy, Arjen Robben en Wesley Sneijder, who are on tour with their club Real Madrid, and Manchester United keeper Edwin van der Sar, who will play the Champions League final on Wednesday night, will join the squad later this week, along with former PSV striker Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink, who may be crowned champion of Scotland with Celtic on Thursday. The Holland coaching staff have exactly twenty days to lay the foundations for a hopefully successful Euro 2008 campaign. Holland's first match of Euro 2008 is against world champions Italy at the Stade de Suisse Wankdorf in Bern on Monday 9 June.
Ibrahim Afellay is the only PSV player in Marco van Basten's provisional squad. Before leaving for Switzerland, Holland will play three international friendlies. They face Ukraine at the Rotterdam Kuip on Saturday 24 May, and meet Denmark at the Philips Stadium in Eindhoven five days later, on Thursday 29 May. They play their final pre-Euro 2008 international friendly against Wales, again at the Rotterdam Kuip, on Sunday 1 July.