The Netherlands’ all-time leading men’s goalscorer, Memphis Depay, has been dropped from the starting line-up by Ronald Koeman for this week’s World Cup qualifier against Malta after losing his passport.

Memphis flew in to Amsterdam a day late from Brazil, where he plays his club football for Corinthians, after he was unable to find the document on Sunday evening. The player later claimed it had been stolen.

He went to the airport hoping to persuade border authorities to let him travel without a passport. “But he couldn’t get through, so he went back to look for it and the next step was to get him an emergency document so he could fly a day later,” Koeman said.

The coach said the 31-year-old, who has scored 52 goals in 104 international matches, was no longer on the team sheet to start the match. “The plan I had for him in my head for this week will have to change a bit,” a laconic Koeman commented.

In the absence of Memphis, Koeman could turn to AZ’s 22-year-old striker Mexx Meerdink, who was the surprise inclusion in his squad for the double-header against Malta and Finland.

Brian Brobbey and Joshua Zirkzee are currently not holding down first-team places for their clubs, Sunderland and Manchester United respectively, while Koeman may prefer Meerdink to the 33-year-old Wout Weghorst as he looks to build for the future.

Victory against Finland in Amsterdam on Sunday will make the Dutch strong favourites to qualify directly for next summer’s tournament as group winners.