Virgil van Dijk will win his 100th cap for the Netherlands on Sunday evening. The captain lines up in a highly unusual role for him, on the right of central defence, alongside the surprise inclusion of Teun Koopmeiners. Theo Janssen has questioned whether the Liverpool veteran (35) will feel uncomfortable on that side.
Head coach Xavi Hernández has selected Koopmeiners as the left-sided centre-back. The Juventus left-footer comes in for Jurriën Timber, who is being handled cautiously after returning from a persistent groin injury.
Van Dijk moves across to the right to accommodate Koopmeiners. "That is very surprising," Janssen begins. "Especially because Virgil has indicated for a long time that he wants to play on the left. He is left-oriented."
Janssen added: "So I am curious to see how he will do and whether he feels uncomfortable in that position." Presenter Sjoerd van Ramshorst then notes that Van Dijk last played at right centre-back for the Netherlands nine years ago, and for Liverpool eight years ago. "I think that says enough," Janssen responds.
Then Janssen goes further. "It is not his position, he says that himself as well. I am curious to see how he does today," Janssen said. Xavi later offered an explanation. "I explained to him during our first meeting that he might have to adapt."
Xavi added: "He is the captain, the leader. He will certainly adapt for the team. Especially today, the day he earns his 100th cap," before turning to Koopmeiners. "He is playing as a centre-back because we expect that we will need very good build-up play."
On Koopmeiners' qualities, Xavi said: "He is good at finding the free man and can switch the play. He can pass and build up play very well. We want to attack and defend better, and Koop is suited to that," Xavi concludes.
Netherlands line-up: Verbruggen; Dumfries, Van Dijk, Koopmeiners, Van de Ven; Veerman, Reijnders, Gravenberch; Summerville, Meerdink, Lang.
Serbia line-up: V. Milinkovic-Savic; Gudelj, Babic, Pavlovic, Terzic; Nedeljkovic, Lukic, Stankovic, Samardzic; Cvetkovic, Tadic.