Xavi's Netherlands Squad Transformation Begins with Surprising Cuts
Xavi’s Netherlands begin with a jolt. Not with a speech, not with a slogan, but with a cut.
Memphis Depay is out.
The country’s joint-record chaser in front of goal, a face of the Oranje for a decade, has been told there is no place for him in the first squad of this new era. While he tries to rediscover his scoring touch in Brazil with Corinthians, still waiting for his first goal there, Xavi has made it clear: reputation no longer guarantees a seat on the plane. Match sharpness and club form come first.
It is a clean break from the Ronald Koeman years. A line in the sand. No sacred cows.
Big names out, big calls made
Memphis is the headline, but not the only casualty. Marten de Roon is gone. Wout Weghorst, the late-game battering ram of recent tournaments, is also missing.
Injuries have made some decisions for Xavi. Frenkie de Jong is still out with the knee problem that ruined his World Cup and continues to delay his reunion with his former Barcelona coach. Mats Wieffer is also unavailable through injury, and Stefan de Vrij’s absence feels less like a pause and more like an ending, his move to Greece coinciding with what looks like the winding down of his international career.
There is at least one major return. Jurrien Timber is back. The defender, who missed the World Cup and a long stretch of football with a serious knee injury, reappears as a symbol of renewal as much as recovery.
Youth steps into the light
If the cuts are ruthless, the vision is clear. This first squad leans hard into youth.
Ruben van Bommel, son of former Oranje midfielder Mark van Bommel, is one of the headline inclusions. His start to the season with PSV Eindhoven has been electric. Fresh from his own cruciate ligament nightmare, he has already produced two goals and two assists in league play. Xavi has rewarded that burst of form, not the surname on the back of the shirt.
Gjivai Zechiel has forced the door open as well. Now a regular at Feyenoord, the technical midfielder has added a ruthless streak in front of goal, scoring five times already this season. That combination of touch and timing fits neatly with what Xavi has always demanded from his midfields.
The message is unmistakable: play well now, and you’re in. Live on past glories, and you’re out.
Veerman’s second chance
Among all the fresh faces and returning bodies, one name carries a different kind of weight: Joey Veerman.
Under Ronald Koeman, the midfielder became a symbol of what was wrong rather than what could be right. A poor display against Austria at Euro 2024 triggered a storm of criticism, questions over his tactical discipline, and a very public debate in the Dutch media about whether he was suited to the national team at all. He drifted to the margins, almost written off.
Now, after a reset in the Bundesliga with Borussia Dortmund, Xavi has pulled him back in. At 27, Veerman is hardly a prospect, but he is a playmaker who can unpick a low block from deep. In a system that will demand high technical quality and precision from central midfielders, that passing range is a weapon Xavi clearly believes he can still sharpen.
This is not nostalgia. It is rehabilitation with a purpose.
Van Dijk stays at the helm
One of Xavi’s first tasks was to secure his captain. Virgil van Dijk had hinted he might walk away from international football after the World Cup exit to Morocco, leaving a vacuum at the heart of the dressing room as well as the back line.
Private talks in August changed that. Van Dijk has committed to continue and to lead.
He remains the cornerstone of a defence that now also leans on Premier League power, with Micky van de Ven and Jan Paul van Hecke alongside him. Their presence gives the back line pace, aggression, and a clear bridge between generations.
A nuanced stance on Saudi moves
Xavi has been ruthless in some areas, pragmatic in others. Where some national coaches have drawn hard lines around players moving to the Middle East, he has chosen a more flexible route.
Tijjani Reijnders and Crysencio Summerville, both now in the Saudi Pro League, keep their places. Their selection underlines a simple principle: if they are fit, performing, and tactically useful, they are in the conversation, regardless of postcode.
It all adds up to a first squad that feels less like a gentle evolution and more like a jolt to the system. Established names cut loose, young talent promoted, reputations challenged, and the captain convinced to stay on board.
The Xavi era has started with a statement. The real question now is whether this bold reshaping of the Oranje will bring the trophies that have eluded a golden generation, or expose just how brutal a reset can be.
