Xavi Hernández had established names to choose from when Virgil van Dijk pulled out of the Netherlands squad. Matthijs de Ligt, Stefan de Vrij and Nathan Aké were all available options, as Dutch outlet NU.nl pointed out. Instead, the KNVB announced Tuesday that Brentford center back Sepp van den Berg, 24 and uncapped, is the man coming in for the captain.
Why Van Dijk is out
Van Dijk played in Liverpool's 3-1 win at Crystal Palace on Sunday, keeping up his record of playing every Premier League minute this season, Reuters reported. But the federation said he did not come out of the game fit. According to Flashscore, he had already arrived at the KNVB campus in Zeist before he withdrew on Monday evening.
The federation first said it would not replace him or Sunderland striker Brian Brobbey, who also left the camp. A day later Xavi changed course for the defense, and the squad is back to 24 players. Brobbey still has no replacement, leaving Mexx Meerdink and Donyell Malen as the recognized strikers.
NU.nl noted that this will be the first Oranje match Van Dijk misses in two years. His last international appearance was the 2-1 win over Serbia in October, his 100th cap.
Four Liverpool games, then a starting job
Van den Berg's career has run in the opposite direction from the man he is replacing. Liverpool signed him from PEC Zwolle in 2019 for about €2 million, but he made only four first-team appearances at Anfield. He spent most of those years on loan at Preston North End, Schalke and Mainz.
Brentford paid Liverpool roughly €24 million for him in the summer of 2024, outbidding PSV, according to MeeMetOranje. He has been a regular in west London since, although a groin injury kept him out until Oct. 17 this season. Flashscore reports he has started every game since his return, and Brentford sit eighth in the Premier League.
His international experience so far is all at youth level: eight games for the Under-21s and ten for the Under-19s.
Greece first, then Germany
The Netherlands host Greece at the Johan Cruijff ArenA on Friday and close their Nations League group in Berlin against Germany on Monday, Nov. 16. Van den Berg reports to Zeist on Tuesday evening, joining a back line built around Tottenham's Micky van de Ven and Jan Paul van Hecke.
Nothing guarantees him a debut. But by choosing a 24-year-old over three veterans with dozens of caps between them, Xavi has made clear he is looking at the next cycle, and that a player Liverpool let go is part of it.
