Van Persie and de Jong await Austria
Arsenal striker Robin van Persie and Manchester City midfielder Nigel de Jong may make a comeback in the Dutch national team against Austria.The Premiership stars were called up by manager Bert van Marwijk for the match against Dietmar Constantini’s team. The friendly is set to take place in Rotterdam next Wednesday (9 February).The 22-member squad also features Mark van Bommel who recently left Bayern Munich to join AC Milan Everton ace John Heitinga, Schalke 04 striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar and Liverpools Dirk Kuyt.The fixture will be the first match for both national team sides this year. Austria most recently faced Greece in a friendly in Vienna last November. Mainz 05 left-back Christian Fuchs scored for the home side in the 1-2 defeat.The Netherlands are currently listed in second in the International Federation of Association Footballs (FIFA) world ranking behind 2010 World Cup winners Spain, while Austria are only 45th.Austria face three-time World Cup winners Germany, as well as Belgium, Turkey, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan when the qualification for the 2012 European Football Championship continues later this year. The Austrian national team are in second in the group behind Germany after having gained seven points in the first three matches. Germany won all of their first four games.