Khaberni - The Dutch Football Federation said that Memphis Depay, the historic top scorer of the national team, will be delayed in joining the training camp in preparation for two football matches in the World Cup qualifiers, after he stated that his passport was stolen in Brazil where he plays for Corinthians.
Depay (31 years old) broke the record held by Robin van Persie when he scored two goals in Netherlands' 3-2 win over host Lithuania in Group Seven of the qualifiers, bringing his tally to 52 goals with his national team.
However, he may miss the upcoming Thursday's match against Malta, as the Netherlands national team is expected to tighten its grip on the top of the group.
The federation said in a statement today "Memphis Depay will join the Dutch national team training camp later.. He informed us about the theft of his passport, which prevented him from catching his scheduled flight from Brazil on Sunday. He is doing his utmost to travel to the Netherlands as soon as possible. Therefore, he is expected to join the national team ranks soon."
Dutch coach Ronald Koeman added, "This is unfortunate, for Memphis first, and also for us. Naturally, we want to start the international preparations with a full team.
"At the same time, there are circumstances beyond our control. We hope that he can travel to join the training camp as soon as possible."
The Dutch national team will be guests in Finland next Sunday. After collecting 10 points from 4 matches, they are ahead on goal difference over Poland, which has played 5 matches.
