Joey Veerman returned to the Netherlands squad after a long absence. Ronald Koeman had not called him up for two years, but head coach Xavi Hernández immediately put the midfielder to use. Against Serbia, in a 2-1 win, the Volendam native turned in an excellent performance, as Rafael van der Vaart also noted.
At Euro 2024, Veerman endured a difficult night against Austria in a 3-2 defeat and went off after just over half an hour. He then did not receive an invitation to the Netherlands squad for two years.
"In terms of passing, he is by far the very best. Only the tempo of it often looks a bit slower, but now at Borussia Dortmund he is proving that he needed that step in order to take another step in his development," Van der Vaart judged on NOS.
Van der Vaart also saw how the Bundesliga level and his team-mates at Dortmund are lifting Veerman. "Every ball is perfectly weighted and has the right pace. Everyone can turn if Veerman gives them the ball."
As for Veerman's role with the Netherlands, Van der Vaart expects him to feature regularly. "I really think he is a Xavi player. He will really start often." Theo Janssen was also full of praise for the 27-year-old midfielder.
"The style of play Xavi wants, with playing diagonal balls, is something Veerman does very well. He can play a wonderful ball between the lines and it is so firm. Then you have just that extra yard to turn and accelerate. I can understand why Xavi sees him as important," Janssen felt.
Janssen also compared Veerman to the former Spanish midfielder Sergio Busquets. "By the way, Sergio Busquets was not all that quick either," the Arnhem native said. "But he also always played it to the right colour," he concluded.