"These transfers strengthen our squad. Signing these players (Jaliens, Joris Mathijsen and Tarik Sektioui) shows our ambition for the future."
AZ football director Martin van Geel.
The defender seemed assured of a place in the squad following an excellent season at AZ Alkmaar, but he suffered a knee injury in a friendly just days before Marco van Basten revealed his squad.
Jaliens was carried from the field with what appeared to be a serious knee injury, but the damage proved to be just superficial and van Basten was able to select the composed defender.
The 27-year-old has been a key figure in the excellent AZ Alkmaar side over the last couple of seasons, having learned his trade at Sparta and Willem II.
He has a contract which runs until 2008, but the World Cup could be the perfect stage for the defender to showcase his talents.
The one question mark over the Dutch squad is the lack of experience in defence and Jaliens is a relative newcomer to the international scene, having only made his debut in March of this year, but what he lacks in experience he certainly makes up for in composure.
