Playmaker Frenkie de Jong returns to the Netherlands squad for the first time since the 2026 World Cup; On Friday, he was called up as part of a list of 25 players to play the matches between Greece and Germany this November in the European Nations League.
Barcelona player De Jong had missed due to injury from his country's first four matches in Group B in the first level last September and October, in which the Netherlands scored eight points to top the standings, equal on points with Greece and three points behind Germany.
The new coach, Xavi Hernandez, also called up Aston Villa left-back Ian Maatsen, who will join the national team for the second time after his last international appearance in March 2025.
Mix Meerdink and Gus Till, who replaced the injured Donyiel Malen and Justin Kluivert during the last international break, retained their places in the squad. Kluivert and Donyell Malen also returned to the lineup.
Nathan Ake, Jeremy Frimpong, Ryan Kravenberg and Jurel Hato were also absent due to injuries, while Lazio striker Kenneth Taylor was ruled out.
The Netherlands will host Greece in Amsterdam on November 13 before facing Germany in Berlin three days later.
The team's lineup was as follows: Goalkeepers: Mark Flecken (Bayer Leverkusen), Robin Rufus (Sunderland), and Bart Verbruchen (Brighton).
Defenders also included: Denzel Dumfries (Real Madrid), Lucharel Gertruida (PSV Eindhoven), Ian Maatsen (Aston Villa), Jorn Temper (Arsenal), Micky van de Ven (Tottenham Hotspur), Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool), and Jan-Paul van Hecke (Tottenham Hotspur).
In the midfield, the players included: Frenkie de Jong (Barcelona), Teun Koopmeiners (Juventus), Tijani Reynders (Al-Qadisiyah), Quentin Temper (Crystal Palace), Gus Till (PSV Eindhoven), Joey Firman (Borussia Dortmund), and Xavi Zychial (Feyenoord).
Finally, the strikers came: Justin Kluivert (Bournemouth), Robin van Bommel (PSV), Brian Proby (Sunderland), Cody Khakpo (Liverpool), Noah Lang (Napoli), Donyiel Malen (Roma), Mix Meerdink (Alkmaar), and Crescencio Summerville (Al Hilal).
Russian Alexandra Shubladze continued her adventure in the Hong Kong Tennis Championship, after qualifying for the semi-finals of the competition, which was held on hard courts.
Shubladze, ranked 136th in the world, caused a major surprise, by defeating Romanian Sorana Cristea, the first seed in the tournament, with a score of 6/2, 6/3, on Friday, in the quarter-finals of the tournament.
Shubladze (21 years old), who qualified for the main rounds of the tournament after winning two qualifying matches, started the match with tremendous strength. She decided the first four games in her favor, before ending the first set in the eighth game.
After failing to take advantage of any of the five break-point opportunities she had in the first set, Cristea wasted another opportunity to break her opponent’s serve in the second game of the second set, which made her pay a heavy price. Shubladze broke her serve in the next game, leading 3/1.
Cristea collapsed immediately after she was able to break her opponent's serve for the first time in the match. Despite falling behind by a set and a break of serve, the 36-year-old veteran Romanian regained her relative balance and won the next two games to tie the second set at 3/3.
But Chrystia suffered great disappointment by losing her serve twice in a row, which gave Shubladze victory in the next three games, so the Russian player continued her surprise and continued her dreamy career in the Hong Kong Championship.
After achieving the first victory in her career against one of the top 20 players in the world, Shubladze reached the semi-finals in her first participation in the main rounds in one of the competitions classified in the 250 points category.
In her quest to reach the final, Shubladze set up a match in the tournament's golden square against American player Claire Liu, who defeated Turkish Zeynep Sonmez with a score of 6/1, 6/4.
Paris Saint-Germain rested its Moroccan right-back, Achraf Hakimi, against Troyes on Saturday in the French Football League, before joining the Moroccan national team camp on Monday, according to what the Parisian club announced on Friday.
Saint-Germain, the champion of France and the European League, said in a statement: “In agreement with the coach and the sports administration, Achraf Hakimi will benefit from a rest period until the start of the international break.”
In early October, after the last camp for the national team, Ousmane Dembélé and Portuguese Nuno Mendes also received a “rest period” granted by Spanish coach Luis Enrique and the club management, in a step that Saint-Germain used to resort to to avoid physical problems.
Since then, the two players have suffered two muscle injuries in the thigh, and they will in turn miss Saturday’s confrontation with Troyes at Parc des Princes, along with Brazilian Marquinhos (thigh) and Georgian Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (knee).
Morocco will play Niger twice, on November 13 and 17, in the third and fourth rounds of the 2027 African Cup of Nations qualifiers.
