Netherlands: Xavi faces midfield problem before first game as coach

Xavi Hernandez has been appointed to restore a more dominant, possession-based identity to the Netherlands, but his first international window immediately deprives him of two players who appear particularly suited to that plan: Frenkie de Jong and Xavi Simons.

The former Barcelona manager arrives with an obvious philosophical connection to Dutch football.

Xavi grew up in a Barcelona structure heavily influenced by Johan Cruyff, played under Pep Guardiola and later developed his own interpretation of positional football as a coach.

The KNVB has also made clear that it wants the national team to play with greater initiative, control and attacking ambition following Ronald Koeman's departure.

However, translating those principles to international football is considerably more difficult than doing so at club level.

Xavi has limited training time, a squad drawn from different tactical environments and, for his opening fixtures, no De Jong or Simons.

That leaves the midfield - potentially the most important area of his system - as his first major selection problem.

Xavi must build first midfield without De Jong

De Jong would appear an obvious fit for the new Netherlands.

Xavi worked extensively with him at Barcelona and knows how the midfielder can help a team progress through pressure, create passing angles and move the ball into more advanced areas.

His absence therefore removes perhaps the player most naturally equipped to interpret the coach's positional demands immediately.

Simons would also have offered another technically secure option between midfield and attack.

Instead, Xavi must initially build around alternatives such as Ryan Gravenberch, Tijjani Reijnders and Teun Koopmeiners.

Each offers something different.

Gravenberch can carry the ball through midfield and operate at different heights, Reijnders is comfortable receiving and driving through central areas, while Koopmeiners can contribute to both the build-up phase and late attacking runs.

That variety may ultimately help Xavi.

At Barcelona, his midfield structures were rarely defined simply by a conventional 4-3-3.

Players could rotate between deeper and more advanced zones, full-backs could move inside and the overall shape often changed significantly once possession was established.

The principle mattered more than the starting formation: create numerical superiority around the ball, find the free player and use possession to move the opposition rather than simply keep it.

The Netherlands have several midfielders capable of performing parts of that job.

The difficulty is asking them to develop those relationships in a matter of days rather than months.

Germany test will offer first clues about new identity

Xavi's first squad suggests that he is not planning an immediate revolution.

Virgil van Dijk remains captain, Cody Gakpo continues to be an important attacking figure and experienced players including Denzel Dumfries and Nathan Ake have retained their places.

There are changes, though.

Memphis Depay has been left out, while Ruben van Bommel and Gjivai Zechiel have received opportunities as Xavi begins to assess which profiles best suit his preferred style.

The opening match against Germany should therefore be treated as the beginning of a process rather than a finished tactical statement.

Xavi has already spoken about wanting intensity, passion, rhythm and initiative from his team.

Those demands are significant because his interpretation of possession football is not based on sterile circulation.

The intention is to use the ball to manipulate opponents, create the free man and progress into dangerous areas while remaining organised enough to press immediately after possession is lost.

That will place considerable responsibility on whichever midfield starts against Germany.

Gravenberch and Reijnders could become particularly important in the absence of De Jong, while Koopmeiners offers another option for balancing construction with movement into the final third.

Xavi's wider project will become easier to judge once De Jong and Simons return.

For now, his first Netherlands team will be an incomplete version of the one he may eventually want.

That makes the midfield issue particularly revealing.

Xavi has been appointed partly because his footballing ideas fit the identity the Netherlands want to recover.

His first challenge is proving that those ideas can still function without two of the players who seem best suited to carrying them out.