Netherlands head coach Xavi Hernández named his squad on Monday for the decisive Nations League fixtures, with all-time top scorer Memphis Depay omitted. The forward is dealing with physical complaints and needs to recover and play more before being considered for selection again. Xavi stressed the door remains open for the striker.
Xavi gave the explanation during a press conference where questions about the absent player persisted. "Yes, you say sorry, but you just keep asking," said the irritated coach. "It's better to talk about the players who are on the list."
Squad for decisive fixtures
The Netherlands remain unbeaten after four matches, leading Nations League Group 2 with eight points, level with Greece. Germany follows with five points. Only the top two teams advance to the quarter-finals, making the upcoming matches key. The team hosts Greece on Friday 13 November at the Johan Cruijff ArenA and plays away to Germany in Berlin three days later.
The 25-man squad sees a return for Frenkie de Jong, who comes back after a long injury lay-off. Ian Maatsen also returns. During the press conference, Xavi pointed to other options, such as Donyell Malen, whom he prefers as a number 9. "We can talk about Donyell Malen, for example," said Xavi. "We are not talking about Ian Maatsen, about Frenkie de Jong, about Justin Kluivert."
Unbeaten run continues
The Netherlands enter the fixtures with confidence, given recent results. The team is unbeaten in its last three internationals, with a WDW sequence. On 4 October, Serbia was beaten 2-1 thanks to goals from Teun Koopmeiners and Joshua Zirkzee. Four days earlier, a 2-2 draw was played against Greece, with goals from captain Virgil van Dijk and Tijjani Reijnders.
All attention now turns to Friday night's clash against group leaders Greece in Amsterdam.
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