De Jong to captain Netherlands against Greece
Frenkie de Jong will captain the Netherlands against Greece on Friday, stepping in for Virgil van Dijk, who is not fit enough to play. It will be De Jong’s first start as national-team captain.
Review information is loading.
Frenkie de Jong will captain the Netherlands against Greece in Friday’s Nations League match, replacing Virgil van Dijk, who is not fit enough to play, Dutch coach Xavi Hernández said on Thursday.
It will be the first time De Jong has started a match as captain of the national team. Hernández said the 29-year-old Barcelona midfielder is first in the captaincy order, followed by Denzel Dumfries and Cody Gakpo.
Van Dijk has played 100 times for the Netherlands and captained the side on 84 occasions. De Jong said earlier this week that he would approach the role differently from Van Dijk, describing his own example as one of conduct and professionalism rather than being the loudest voice.
Sign in to give this article a thumbs up or down.
About this discussion and AI questions
Private test discussion. Comments are readers’ views and are not yet automatically fact-checked. Editing is available for 60 seconds after posting.
Sign in with a confirmed reader account and choose a username to read comments and participate.
Sorting applies to top-level comments; replies remain oldest first. New comments and likes can change the order. Refresh for the current ranking.
Loading comments…