The 70-year-old coach said he can still do his job despite
falling and hurting himself on Sunday. During the training session, Van Gaal
remained seated in the cart and gave instructions to one of his assistants,
Danny Blind, who passed them on to the players.
“Physically, (I’m) not good, but the brain is still
working,” Van Gaal said, adding he was in “a lot of pain. That’s why I am
sitting in a wheelchair.”
The Netherlands blew a two-goal lead against Montenegro on
Saturday in a 2-2 draw when victory would have guaranteed qualification for the
World Cup in Qatar.
The Netherlands has a far superior goal difference over
Turkey and Norway, which are two points behind the Dutch. A draw on Tuesday in
Rotterdam should be enough to ensure the team advances to next year’s
tournament.
Central defender Stefan de Vrij left the Dutch training camp
Sunday with an injury he picked up against Montenegro and will not be available
for Tuesday’s game.
The match will be played at an empty Kuip Stadium in
Rotterdam because of lockdown measures that came into force over the weekend
amid soaring COVID-19 infections in the Netherlands.
Van Gaal said staff at the stadium are looking into how to get
him to the dugout for the match. -AP