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Netherlands vs. France: Sneijder urges youth to step up

Netherlands international Wesley Sneijder wants the team's new generation to showcase their qualities in Friday's friendly against France.

Wesley Sneijder has called on Netherlands' new generation to step up as they start their preparation for 2018 World Cup qualifiers with a friendly against France on Friday.

The Dutch have said farewell to high-profile names such as Robin van Persie, Nigel de Jong and Rafael van der Vaart following their failure to qualify for Euro 2016, with head coach Danny Blind calling up a number of inexperienced youngsters for the upcoming friendlies instead.

Sneijder sees similarities to what happened with Belgium in recent years and hopes the Dutch can also bounce back in the years to come.