AMSTERDAM : The return of Frenkie de Jong to the Netherlands squad is a major boost to their hopes of topping their Nations League group and reaching next year’s quarter-finals, coach Xavi Hernandez said on Monday.
The injury-plagued midfielder last represented his country at this year’s World Cup and missed the four Nations League matches in which the Dutch collected eight points to join Greece at the top of Group A2.
De Jong has long been a key figure for the national team, and Xavi expects the midfielder to play a leading role in Friday’s home match against Greece and the subsequent away fixture against Germany.
“He knows our philosophy, our ideas and he must be important on the pitch with us. I want to see his personality, he’s one of the captains of the team, he has experience,” said Xavi, who coached De Jong at Barcelona from 2021 to 2024.
PLAYMAKING ROLE
The 29-year-old is expected to return to his familiar playmaking position, where Joey Veerman has impressed with two victories over Serbia and a 2-2 draw against Greece.
“All the players can play together, especially the good players, and Joey is doing so well in Dortmund, and he did very well with us here,” Xavi said.
“In Spain they said Iniesta and I couldn’t play together, we were too similar in our style and approach. Can you imagine?”
“Frenkie will be no new discovery for me, he’s a top player. He can play everywhere. Yesterday, he played as a full back for some minutes (in Barcelona’s win over Atletico Madrid). He’s a top player,” he added.
The top two teams in the group will advance to the quarter-finals in March, with a victory over Greece at the Johan Cruyff Arena guaranteeing the Dutch a place in the last eight.
“This is the next goal, and then we will think about the other goals, but the first is to qualify to quarter-finals,” Xavi said.
“We showed a good level in the last window. We have confidence we will qualify.”
