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Holland stars Cody Gakpo and Matthijs De Ligt missed France loss 'because of a DODGY chicken curry'

  /  autty

The five Dutch players who missed Holland's 4-0 defeat against France on Friday were out because of a dodgy chicken curry, according to reports.

Cody Gakpo, Sven Botman, Matthias De Ligt, Joey Veerman and Bart Verbruggen all left Ronald Koeman's training camp with flu-like stomach complaints ahead of their Euro 2024 qualifier against World Cup finalists France.

Les Bleus thrashed Holland thanks to goals from Antoine Griezmann, Dayot Upamecano and recently-appointed skipper Kylian Mbappe, who was hailed by French media after the win.

Koeman was already without Frenkie de Jong, Steven Bergwijn, Teun Koopmeiners and Andries Noppert through injury before the virus spread throughout the Dutch camp. Meanwhile, Inter Milan wing-back Denzel Dumfries was also absent because of a suspension.

According to Dutch outlet De Telegraaf, the virus was brought on by a dodgy chicken curry, consumed by the five players on Wednesday evening - two nights before the clash at the Stade de France.

The defeat left Holland rock bottom of their Euro 2024 qualifying group.

The Dutchmen will look to make amends on Monday when they host Gibraltar, who suffered a 3-0 defeat in their qualifying curtain-raiser against Greece on Friday.

Koeman will hope to have his ill and injured players back as quickly as possible, eager to refine his side ahead of their crucial Nations League semi-final against Croatia in June.

A victory would see them face either Spain or Italy in the final.