Robben retires from international football

CAIRO – 11 October 2017: Dutch legend, Arjen Robben, announced on Tuesday his retirement from international football after he failed to qualify to the 2018 World Cup in Russia with the Dutch national team.

Dutch fans chanted “Thank You, Robben” in Dutch after their game against Sweden, where he scored twice to lead the Dutch to a 2-0 victory, which was not enough to qualify them to the World Cup.

Robben started playing for the Dutch national team when he was 19 and he represented the Dutch at three World Cup tournaments; 2006, 2010 and 2014.

“The most beautiful moments for me were the World Cups of 2010 and 2014, in which we were really a close team and a close group, but there are many other beautiful moments; 14 years is a long time," Robben told the press after the game against Sweden.

Robben, 33, led his country to the 2010 World Cup finals when the Dutch lost 1-0 to Spain; thanks to Andres Iniesta’s late goal. They won the Bronze medal in the 2014 World Cup after beating Brazil 3-0 at the third place game.

The Dutch national team misses the second big tournament in a row, as they failed to qualify to the EURO 2016 in France.