Xavi Hernandez, head coach of FC Barcelona, during a Press Conference at Ciutat Esportiva Joan Gamper in Barcelona
Xavi Hernandez, head coach of FC Barcelona, during a Press Conference at Ciutat Esportiva Joan Gamper in Barcelona
Virgil van Dijk will miss the Netherlands’ final two Nations League group games with a fitness issue, the Dutch FA (KNVB) confirmed on Monday.
The Liverpool captain had been named in head coach Xavi Hernandez’s squad for the matches against Greece and Germany.
The Dutch national team said Van Dijk “did not return fit” from Liverpool’s Premier League win at Crystal Palace on Sunday. He played all 90 minutes of the 3-1 victory at Selhurst Park.
Daily Mail’s Lewis Steele later revealed that Van Dijk “has been managing a little niggle for a few weeks now”.
Steele traces the issue to Liverpool’s 6-3 Champions League win at LASK in October. Van Dijk was on the bench for that game and came on as a second-half substitute.
Van Dijk, 35, has started 14 of his 15 appearances for Liverpool in all competitions this season and has played more than 1,200 minutes under Andoni Iraola. He has 100 caps for the Netherlands.
Brian Brobbey is also unavailable, and the KNVB said on Monday that no replacements would be called up. The striker went off with a muscular problem in the 67th minute of Sunderland’s 1-0 win over Chelsea on Sunday.
Oranje play Greece at the Johan Cruijff Arena in Amsterdam on Friday, before traveling to Berlin’s Olympiastadion to face Germany on Monday.
That plan has since changed in defence. Xavi has added 24-year-old centre-back Sepp van den Berg to the squad, according to Voetbal International, and he could make his Oranje debut in November.
The Brentford defender will report to Zeist on Tuesday evening.
His arrival takes the squad to 24 players. No replacement has been called up for Brobbey.
Van den Berg has played four Premier League games this season. He missed the start of the campaign with a groin injury, then featured against Liverpool, Hull City, Nottingham Forest and Brighton & Hove Albion before the international break.
He has started Brentford’s last four league games since returning.
He began his career at PEC Zwolle and moved to Liverpool in 2019. He later had loan spells at Preston North End, Schalke 04 and Mainz before joining Brentford. He left Liverpool five years after arriving.
Sepp van den Berg has never been called up to the senior Netherlands team. He has played eight matches for Jong Oranje and ten for the Under-19s. His last Jong Oranje appearance came on 14 June 2023.
He is the only player in the current squad without a senior cap. Mexx Meerdink, Ruben van Bommel and Gjivai Zechiel have all made their debuts under Xavi.
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