Netherlands host Greece on 13 November with Sepp van den Berg left out of the squad

Van den Berg left out of the match list

Sepp van den Berg will not make his Netherlands debut on Friday, 13 November. The Brentford defender was called up for the first time this international window after Virgil van Dijk's injury, but the UEFA match list leaves him in the stands. Coach Xavi Hernandez had already lost Brian Brobbey, who was also judged unfit for the final group matches, and Van den Berg only joined the squad on Tuesday. UEFA rules allow a match list of 23 players, so the coach will have to name another player to sit in the stands for the match against Germany on Monday, 16 November, in Berlin.

Fixtures and the group table

The match kicks off at 20:45 at the Johan Cruijff ArenA in Amsterdam, and the Netherlands and Greece both go into it on eight points. After four games Oranje have two wins over Serbia (2-1) and draws against Germany (1-1) and Greece (2-2). Germany sit on five points and Serbia are still without a point. The top two teams in the group reach the quarterfinals in March. A win over Greece would not yet guarantee a place, but a win over Germany in Berlin would be enough for qualification whatever the result against Greece.

Netherlands8

Greece8

Germany5

Serbia0

Netherlands

8 points

Greece

8 points

Germany

5 points

Serbia

0 points

Data from the article text

Head-to-head record

The Netherlands have lost only once in twelve meetings with Greece, a 2016 friendly in Eindhoven that ended 1-2. They won the other encounters apart from two draws, with a goal ratio of 26-5 across those meetings. In official matches Oranje have never lost to Greece. The most recent meeting took place in Thessaloniki in early October, when the Netherlands trailed 2-0 at half-time. Virgil van Dijk and Tijjani Reijnders then rescued a point in the 89th minute, and the game finished 2-2.

Greek defender with Dutch roots

Pantelis Hatzidiakos, a 29-year-old defender born on Rhodes to a Greek father and a Dutch mother, is set to play for Greece. His family sits in the stands at the Johan Cruijff ArenA. Asked about the match, he said:

“My in-laws cheer for the Netherlands, the rest for Greece, I think.”

He came through AZ's youth academy after leaving Panathinaikos at 14 and later captained the club there. He missed Greece's first four Nations League matches with a calf injury. He now plays for FC Kopenhagen after a difficult spell at Cagliari, and he described how Greek football has changed.

“Every season every club must have two youth players in the first team, and in cup games two youth players must always start.”

Greece now have 18-year-old midfielder Konstantinos Karetsas of Borussia Dortmund and 19-year-old striker Charalampos Kostoulas of Brighton & Hove Albion in their squad, alongside players from PAOK and Olympiakos.

Remaining group fixtures

Serbia and Germany play on the same evening, Friday, 13 November, at 20:45. Greece and Serbia meet on Monday, 16 November, at 20:45, the same night the Netherlands face Germany at the Olympiastadion in Berlin.