Norwich City star Tim Krul admits being left on the bench by Holland at the Euros left him 'completely blindsided' after seeming to be in pole position for a starting role at the tournament.

Frank De Boer controversially decided to leave fit-again Valencia keeper Jasper Cillessen out of his final squad following a positive Covid-19 test, despite that not deterring other countries from naming isolating players in their final squads.

De Boer has since been removed from the role and Louis Van Gaal has returned as manager following a 2-0 defeat to the Czech Republic in the last 16.

Krul had started six of his country's last seven games thanks to his success with Norwich but the former Newcastle number one was overlooked in favour of 38-year-old Ajax keeper Maarten Stekelenburg.

Ukraine were beaten 3-2 in the opener and then a 2-0 win over Austria and a 3-0 victory over North Macedonia ensured the Dutch topped Group C, all played in front of around 15,000 fans in Amsterdam.

"That completely blindsided me as I was happy like a boy that I was going to start the Euros in my own country," Krul said, in a wide-ranging interview with the Daily Mail.

"It took me a bit to get over that as I had worked so hard to get back to that level. But eventually, you have to go 'right' and switch your mindset. I had a Premier League season to prepare for."

The 33-year-old was speaking ahead of the Canaries' Premier League opener against Liverpool on Saturday (5.30pm), being interviewed via a video call.

City fans are eagerly awaiting Daniel Farke's press conference on Friday lunchtime to learn more about which players are available for selection, after a pre-season campaign that was disrupted by a Covid-19 outbreak.

That has seen skipper Grant Hanley not able to play and striker Teemu Pukki get less than 90 minutes of game time, with trips to Manchester City and Arsenal either side of a home game against Leicester following the Liverpool game.

"We missed two games and haven’t had even one game with the settled back four or XI that we are going to start with against Liverpool," Krul explained.

"It was a massive Covid hit. We had about 13 out at one stage. When those fixtures came out I already thought somebody was having a bit of a laugh. People say it’s a good time to play those teams but I am not sure!

"But I do think we are ready to be more streetwise this season. We all know this squad can play amazing football but there are other sides to the game and you can’t just play that same style all the time.

"I remember last time beating Man City at home and then the next week going to Burnley thinking we would just roll them over.

"They literally just stormed all over us, bullied us (2-0). This time I think we will be more streetwise, I really do."

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