Tim Krul has joined up with Holland with a huge smile on his face and feeling in top form, as he hopes to face Spain and win his 10th international cap this evening.
Krul was voted Player of the Month for October by City fans and kept successive clean sheets during a 0-0 draw with Millwall and a 1-0 win over Swansea in the Championship last week.
“I feel great, I really do,” said the Norwich number one. “The moment I stepped into this club a couple of years ago, I’ve just felt better and better, week by week.
“Something is going well. I’m getting the confidence of the club, the trust of the manager, the goalie coach Ed Wootten who trains me every day exactly how I need to be trained - and it’s showing on the pitch at the moment.”
The 32-year-old former Newcastle number one made his first appearance since 2015 in a 1-0 friendly defeat to Mexico last month, Frank de Boer’s first since succeeding Ronald Koeman, before Jasper Cillessen reclaimed the gloves for two Nations League games.
However, the Valencia keeper is injured and Krul is the most experienced keeper in the squad ahead of tonight’s friendly in Amsterdam, with Nations League games to follow, at home to Bosnia & Herzegovina on Sunday and in Poland next Wednesday.
With the Canaries unbeaten in seven and up to third in the Championship, Krul feels ready for his chance, adding: “It’s incredible. I reported to Holland last time 17th in the league and they were looking at me like ‘you’re doing well in the Championship?’.
“I’m walking in a little bit different, for sure!”
Krul’s appearance against Mexico made him the first player outside of top-flight football to represent Holland since Pierre van Hooijdonk at the 1998 World Cup, when the striker was playing for Nottingham Forest. His call-ups do however mean contending with added Covid-19 restrictions.
“To be fair, the way the Dutch national team are, we’re literally in a bubble, we’re in a hotel, we’re not out or seeing anyone,” he explained.
“So just flying luckily is only Norwich to Amsterdam so it’s only a 25-minute flight, so I’m not too worried about that. As long as you keep your distance and do the things right that you’re asked, then you should be okay.”
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