Quinten Timber facing Crystal Palace axe after Dutch media make 'disastrous' claim
Quinten Timber could lose his place in the Crystal Palace team after a miserable display for the Netherlands against Greece.
Timber, 25, was hooked off at half-time as the Netherlands held Greece to a 2-2 draw on Thursday night.
He has featured regularly for Palace since joining from Marseille on Deadline Day in the summer for around £18million.
Xavi Hernandez named him in his first Dutch squad for their opening round of 2026-27 Nations League A fixtures after some strong performances for the Eagles.
Timber will now have to find his way out of a rough patch of form on international duty when he returns to Palace next week.
The imposing midfielder was not at the races in Greece on Thursday, with national media blasting him after the clash.
Quentin Timber savaged by Dutch media after first-half display vs Greece
Timber started in all of his first five Palace appearances before the international break after instantly impressing Pierre Sage.
The 25-year-old arrived in South London with extensive European and international experience, but could find himself out of Sage's team after such a poor showing for the Oranje.
Starting on the left of a midfield three on Thursday, Timber made just one pass into the final third, two ball recoveries and was dispossessed three times.
He won three of six ground duels and lost his one attempted aerial duel, while also committing two fouls.
Timber was hooked off at half-time with the Dutch 2-0 down away from home, and they recovered to earn a point with goals from Virgil van Dijk and Tijjani Reijnders.
VoetbalPrimeur reviewed his performance by saying: "The first time he started in the starting line-up alongside his brother, he only played one half. That wasn’t all that surprising, as very little went right for Timber. The former Feyenoord player didn’t do himself any favours."
While Football Oranje were pretty scathing in their post-match ratings, writing: "Disastrous display as he gave away foul after foul in the first half. Was rightly hooked at half time."
Rafael van der Vaart offered Timber some advice after Netherlands shocker
Timber clearly needs to improve to keep his place in the Dutch squad under Xavi going forward.
He will hope to return to Palace and stay in Sage's starting eleven to prove to the Netherlands boss that he is good enough to still be a regular for his country.
Former Tottenham star Van der Vaart offered him some criticism and advice on Dutch television after the clash, saying: "I was always a huge fan of his when he played for Feyenoord, but he has to focus on one thing. If you want to be a kind of number 10 or number 8, maybe he is just not quite good enough for that.
"To simply say: 'I am a defensive midfielder' - maybe he thinks he is too good for that himself. He is a bit in between. As a player, you do have to make a choice. I think the best choice is: I'm going to win that ball and give it to the lads who really can play that pass. Then he really can become a terrific player."