Van Dijk stays, Depay dropped: the Netherlands' tactical gamble and the hole in midfield

There is a gap sitting right in the middle of a 26-name list. Reading top to bottom, past Aké, past Brobbey, past Dumfries, you notice the letter D has almost nothing behind it. Memphis Depay — the greatest scorer in Netherlands history with 55 goals in 112 caps — is absent from the first squad of a new regime. At the same time, Virgil van Dijk, the 33-year-old captain who said he would weigh up his international future after speaking to the coaching staff, is in. Two decisions in one document, telling two different stories: the past can be cut, but the last pillar has not been let go.

Based on my experience watching these matches, the first squad list of a new coach is always a tactical manifesto written in proper nouns.

Context

On 18 September, the Dutch federation named 26 players for the Nations League window. Four matches in an extended three-week block: Germany, Greece and Serbia twice. This is compressed load, the kind of schedule that turns every recovery session into a more valuable asset than any tactical drill.

Three facts shape everything. First, Frenkie de Jong is out with a knee problem carried over from the World Cup. Second, Depay is omitted. Third, the squad leans hard toward attackers: Kluivert, Van Bommel, Brobbey, Gakpo, Lang, Malen, Summerville — seven names for two or three slots.

In the other direction, Ruben van Bommel and Gjivai Zechiel are called up for the first time. Frimpong, Timber and Kenneth Taylor return after missing the World Cup. A wave of renewal runs through the group, and it is not random.

One thing must be said plainly about the sourcing. The original report was written by Mark Gleeson, edited by Toby Davis and carried by a major wire service. But circulating versions credit Xavi Hernández with the Netherlands job and place Aké at Fenerbahçe, Dumfries at Real Madrid, Reijnders at Al-Qadsiah and Summerville at Al Hilal — details that deviate from recorded player data. That points to a forward-dated scenario, or to a data error. I still analyse the tactics, but I mark it clearly: verify before using any conclusion.

Core analysis

This squad is an attacking gamble built on a hole in central midfield.

Start with the easiest thing to miss. A possession side does not live on the number of forwards; it lives on the ability to move the ball from the bottom to the top under pressure. That is the job of a press-resistant deep-lying playmaker. For the Netherlands, that man is Frenkie de Jong. Without him the system does not lose a player; it loses a function. Reijnders, Gravenberch and Koopmeiners can cover the volume, but none carries the exact profile of receiving on the half-turn in the final 30 metres under pressure from two sides.

That tactical bubble bursts, and beneath the gloss sits the real skeleton of a team in transition.

Read the shape and everything fits a possession model. Seven forwards for three slots is the ratio of a side that believes goals come from wide attacks and box finishes. Meanwhile the back line still orbits Van Dijk, who is past the far side of his peak. Van Dijk can no longer step 40 metres forward and still get back. The only way to keep him effective is to pair him with a centre-back quick enough to cover behind — Van de Ven, Hato — and accept that the defensive line plays lower than the model wants.

That is where the internal contradiction appears. A team that wants control and a high press also has a defensive spine that needs protecting. The Netherlands cannot push high and shield Van Dijk at the same time, unless the midfield runs double its normal volume.

The list also carries a signal that matters more than appearances. Calling up players from leagues outside the big five is a doctrinal shift, far beyond a casual pick. If the new coach values form over league prestige, he widens the selection pool and simultaneously sends a message about the market value of Gulf competitions. As someone who has tracked the transfer market for years, I consider this the most notable item in the whole document.

On Depay, separate emotion from data. He is 32, played only as a substitute at the World Cup, and remains the record scorer. Dropping a player like that is usually read as an authority play. Look closer and it is also a tactical adjustment: Depay is a dropping, link-up striker. A Brobbey – Gakpo – Malen front line works on different logic — constant movement, pressing defenders, attacking space. You cannot press high and keep a number nine waiting for the ball.

Van Dijk staying is the most stabilising decision of all. A team losing Depay and De Jong at once loses two major reference points in the dressing room. Keeping the captain is the only way to hold the vertical spine of a group being shaken. He had considered ending his international career; staying after talks with the staff is an early vote of confidence, paid for with a commitment that the side will be built around him in the short term.

Contrarian angle

A consensus is forming fast: this is a clean break, a new era, a coach willing to make decisions. That reading sounds reasonable, and it is also the easiest one.

The boldest call in this squad, in my view, lies elsewhere rather than in dropping Depay. Dropping Depay is the least risky call available. The media expected it, the dressing room was prepared, and professionally it fits the new model. The real risk sits elsewhere: entering four competitive matches in three weeks without a fallback for the deep-lying midfield role.

Germany, Greece, Serbia twice. That is a group designed to punish exactly this kind of team. Germany have the technique to contest midfield. Greece and Serbia defend in organised blocks, concede the ball and counter. They do not play ugly football; they play the football the rich do not want to understand — and they are very good at turning an opponent's control into dead time.

If I am wrong, I am wrong here: Reijnders or Gravenberch may already have grown enough to own the playmaking role, and then my concern collapses inside two matches. A 24-year-old midfielder learning to receive on the half-turn under pressure within a single season is entirely possible.

What to watch

This squad will be judged in three weeks, but its real value only shows in six months. The Netherlands are attempting a rebuild with no clear heir at either the goalscoring or the playmaking position. If the plan holds, they have a new generation built the right way. If it does not, people will return to ask why the record scorer was crossed out before anyone proved they score more.

And if you were in charge, would you keep Depay for one more window as insurance, or accept the risk now so the team learns to live without him?