Sepp van den Berg nearly missed his first call-up to the Netherlands national team. The 24-year-old defender was on holiday in Morocco when head coach Xavi tried to phone him for the squad for the matches against Greece and Germany.
Van den Berg did not answer. "I was on vacation and thought no one should call me," the Brentford defender explained. He only received the news via a follow-up text message. He booked flights immediately and arrived in the Netherlands on Monday evening, joining the squad in Zeist on Tuesday night.
"It is of course a great honour," Van den Berg began in an interview with the national team's channels. "I am very happy to be here." His call-up came about after Virgil van Dijk and Brian Brobbey became unavailable. Xavi expanded the squad to 24 players and opted for the former youth international.
Van den Berg previously earned eight caps for the Netherlands U21s. He made his Premier League debut for Brentford this season after recovering from a hip injury. Before the international break, he featured in four league matches against sides like Liverpool and Brighton.
The Netherlands are preparing for Friday's match against Greece in Amsterdam. Xavi's side is unbeaten in its last two outings. On 1 October they drew 2-2 with Greece, before beating Serbia 2-1 on 4 October. The next fixture is already scheduled; the return match against Greece is on Saturday 13 November.
The squad reunites with a recent form of one win and one draw. In the 2-2 draw with Greece, the Dutch goals came from Virgil van Dijk and Tijjani Reijnders, who also provided an assist in the win against Serbia. For Van den Berg, it is a dream come true. He moved from PEC Zwolle to Liverpool in 2019 and signed permanently for Brentford in the summer of 2024. His first training session with Oranje was on Wednesday morning. The squad now numbers 24 for the upcoming Nations League fixtures.
Further reading: VoetbalPrimeur
