Tijjani Reijnders has admitted frustration over his limited game time for Netherlands amid stiff competition in midfield ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Reijnders joined Manchester City from AC Milan in June and has been one of Hugo Viana’s hallmark additions in the Portuguese’s first summer as the club’s new director of football after the departure of long-serving official Txiki Begiristain.
The 26-year-old made a strong start to life in England but has since struggled for regular starts as he adapts to the demands of the Premier League, having raised expectations among the Manchester City fanbase with a series of impressive displays at the FIFA Club World Cup in the United States and in pre-season.
City made a strong start to their Premier League campaign with a 4-0 thrashing of Wolves at the Molineux Stadium, where Reijnders put the strugglers to the sword with an all-time great English top-flight debut.
The Blues then went on an indifferent run of form, with subsequent losses to Tottenham and Brighton leaving Pep Guardiola’s men in the bottom half of the table and raising concerns over Manchester City’s defensive frailties – which were a key shortcoming of their dismal 2024-25 campaign.
However, City have turned a corner since September and a sensational run of 11 wins in 14 games in all competitions has given the Blues a platform to challenge league leaders Arsenal for the Premier League and put the Blues in pole position to qualify for the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 stage.
Reijnders have cut a frustrating figure for City in recent months and Guardiola has allowed the Netherlands international to play his way back to form, with goals scarce from midfield and Erling Haaland shouldering a worrying amount of goalscoring responsibility.
City entered the international break with a fine pair of home wins over Borussia Dortmund and Liverpool, with Reijnders setting up Phil Foden twice against the former and settling for a place on the bench against the Premier League champions, though he has accepted that being in and out of the starting XI is part and parcel of playing for a big club.
Reijnders has found minutes hard to come by for Netherlands in recent months amid stiff competition from the likes of Frenkie de Jong and Ryan Gravenberch. After scoring and providing an assist in a 16 minute cameo against Lithuania this week, the midfielder broke his silence on the National Team situation.
“I was a bit irritated, yes,” the Manchester City star said after the win, as quoted by Voetbal Primeur and relayed by Sport Witness. “I really want to play and that’s why I wanted to show myself today.
“It felt a bit like I had to pause for a moment. I was definitely extra eager, yes. You want to make your mark right away, especially since I didn’t start the last match. If you look at the squad, we have a very broad squad with players who all play at a very high level.
“So, it can happen that you end up on the bench. It was up to me to show why I deserve to be in the starting lineup, in my opinion. It’s good that the national coach (Ronald Koeman) is having a hard time with the decisions he has to make.”
Guardiola will be delighted to see Reijnders fighting tooth and nail for a place in the Netherlands National Team and the Catalan will be hoping that his midfield signing can replicate his recent heroics for the Blues as the season progresses.
