Xavi and Klopp debut on the Netherlands-Germany bench

This Thursday kicks off the first matchday of Nations League Group A2 at the Johan Cruyff Arena with a highly charged matchup: the Netherlands begin their campaign with Xavi Hernández as new head coach, while Germany will also make its debut under Jürgen Klopp.

Xavi was appointed in August to replace Ronald Koeman. The Dutch Federation chose the former Barcelona midfielder and coach believing his football philosophy suits the “oranje” and can drive them towards success. As Mundo Deportivo reports, he’s built his message around a clear idea set: possession, smart positioning, pressing once the ball is lost and reading the game, but always with emotion. “Se precisa la posesión para ganar el partido… Cuando se pierde el balón, hay que presionar… Pero sin pasión, no se puede jugar. Esta plantilla tiene mucho potencial,” he said.

Debut with clear ideas

He also framed the Germany clash as a “challenge” and described Klopp as one of the best managers of the last 15 to 20 years. Speaking to RTVE, Xavi added a wish for later rounds: “Ojalá podamos enfrentarnos a España en la fase final, significaría que ambos estamos clasificados”.

Captain Virgil van Dijk explained how Xavi convinced him even at the age of 35: “Bastaron diez segundos. Me dijo que soy Van Dijk y tuve claro que continuaría,” Mundo Deportivo notes. Klopp, meanwhile, threw in a light-hearted dig ahead of the game, joking that he knows more players personally than Xavi does from both squads.

Line-ups and the “we’ll try” promise

The Netherlands XI starts with Verbruggen; Dumfries, Van Hecke, Van Dijk and Van de Ven; Gravenberch and J. Veerman; Reijnders; Summerville, Brobbey and Gakpo. Germany’s team is led by Ter Stegen, with Treu, Tah, Schlotterbeck and Brown; Kimmich; F. Nmecha and Musiala; Schade, Havertz and Adeyemi.

At the press conference, Klopp refused to promise trophies: “No prometo nada. Solo que lo intentaremos.” He expects his players to perform for the national team as they do at their clubs. The referee will be Alejandro Hernández Hernández (Spain), according to Mundo Deportivo.