Harrymadrid@harrymadrid

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Xavi Hernández Netherlands lineup rule

Micky van de Ven is the first to say he's never seen a lineup announcement this late before, with the new rule from Xavi Hernández having players find out the starting XI just two hours before kickoff. That marks a sharp break from how Ronald Koeman handled things, where the squad usually got the news a full day ahead of matches. The shift stems from Xavi's own experience as a player, stating he didn't like knowing long in advance that he wasn't going to play. While Micky notes it takes time to adjust and finds experimenting with the method acceptable, he admits if he could choose, he would prefer to know earlier whether he's playing or not.

1h

Harrymadrid@harrymadrid

Follow

Xavi Hernández Netherlands lineup rule

Micky van de Ven is the first to say he's never seen a lineup announcement this late before, with the new rule from Xavi Hernández having players find out the starting XI just two hours before kickoff. That marks a sharp break from how Ronald Koeman handled things, where the squad usually got the news a full day ahead of matches. The shift stems from Xavi's own experience as a player, stating he didn't like knowing long in advance that he wasn't going to play. While Micky notes it takes time to adjust and finds experimenting with the method acceptable, he admits if he could choose, he would prefer to know earlier whether he's playing or not.

1h