being held in the Netherlands. In the group stage, Babel scored a penalty against Portugal, helping the Dutch to secure a semi-final spot and thus qualifying for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. His second tournament goal came during his man of the match performance in the final as the Netherlands defeated Serbia 4–1 to retain their title. In May 2008, Babel was selected for the Dutch squad which would compete in the UEFA Euro 2008 tournament. On 31 May, it was announced that Babel had been withdrawn from the squad after tearing ankle ligaments in training. Van Basten added then-Chelsea defender Khalid Boulahrouz to his squad in place of Babel. Babel was included in the preliminary squad for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. On 27 May 2010, Netherlands manager Bert van Marwijk announced that the player would be part of the final squad of 23 participating in the competition. Though the Netherlands reached the final, Babel did not appear in any of the matches during the tournament. Babel returned in Oranje after an absence of almost a year on 11 November 2011 as a starter in the pre Euro 2012 0–0 drawn friendly against Switzerland. On 29 September 2017, Babel was recalled to the Oranje squad after a six-year absence for the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Sweden and Belarus. The Netherlands failed to qualify for the tournament; despite this, Babel was regularly called up for the upcoming inaugural UEFA Nations League campaign. He scored the equaliser in a 2–1 away defeat to France in the Netherlands' first Nations League match. Career statistics Club International As of match played 9 September 2019. Netherlands score listed first, score column indicates score after each Babel goal. Honours Ajax Eredivisie: 2003–04, 2012–13 KNVB Cup: 2005–06, 2006–07 Johan Cruyff Shield: 2005, 2006 Al Ain UAE Super Cup: 2015 Beşiktaş Süper Lig: 2016–17 Galatasaray Turkish Super Cup: 2019 Netherlands U21 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship: 2007 Netherlands FIFA World Cup runner-up: 2010 UEFA Nations League runner-up: 2018–19 Individual UEFA European Under-21 Championship Team of the Tournament: 2007 Ajax Talent of the Year (Marco van Basten Award): 2006–07 References External links LFCHistory.net profile 1986 births Living people Footballers from Amsterdam Dutch footballers Dutch sportspeople of Surinamese descent Association football forwards AFC Ajax players Liverpool F.C. players TSG 1899 Hoffenheim players Kasımpaşa S.K. footballers Al Ain FC players Beşiktaş J.K. footballers Fulham