EURO 2008 INFO

Unless Dutch national team coach Marco van Basten has a change of mind, Canadian midfielder Jonathan de Guzman won't play for the Netherlands at this summer's Euro 2008 tournament.

Van Basten released his 30-man preliminary roster Tuesday and de Guzman, a 20-year-old native of Scarborough, Ont., didn't make the cut.

Although born in Canada, de Guzman, who plays in the Dutch first division with Rotterdam club Feyenoord, recently acquired Dutch citizenship, allowing him to play internationally for the Netherlands.

Van Basten will cut the squad down from his preliminary roster to 26 players on May 16. The 16 nations competing in the tournament must name their final 23-player squad by May 28.

Euro 2008 runs from June 7-29 and is being co-hosted by Austria and Switzerland.

De Guzman a Canadian-born Dutch citizen

An exciting midfielder who possesses a dazzling array of skills, de Guzman, who publicly declared his intention to play for the Dutch national team — and not for Canada — after acquiring his citizenship, has been touted as one of the hottest young prospects in the game ever since making his pro debut for Feyenoord shortly after his 18th birthday.

Calling his choice to represent the Netherlands, where he has lived since he was 12, the biggest decision of his soccer career, de Guzman said he consulted with his family back in Canada and his older brother Julian, a star midfielder with Spanish club Deportivo la Coruna and a veteran of the Canadian national team.

"My brother and my family played a big role in my decision-making," de Guzman told CBCSports.ca in February, just days after he became a Dutch citizen. "They didn't tell me which nation to pick. I found out on my own what would be better for me as a player. I have their 100 per cent support and that's really important to me.

"Julian said it would be great to play with me on the Canadian national team, but he told me I also have a chance to stand in line with some of the greatest players in the world if I decided to play for Holland. It was a big decision I had to make and he told me from Day 1 that I had his support, no matter what."

De Guzman also said he decided to represent the Netherlands because that country "has played a big role in my development as a player."

"I had a lot of time to think about this. I've been playing in Holland since I was 12 years old. I moved here for a certain reason, and the reason was to become a professional soccer player and to make the best out of it. Holland is the place where I have learned my craft," de Guzman said.