Van den Berg pushed Xavi aside: 'Was on holiday in Marrakech'

Brentford defender Van den Berg was called up to the Netherlands squad while on holiday in Marrakech and had to rush back to join training.

Sepp van den Berg's week took an unexpected turn when he received a call-up to the Netherlands national team while on holiday in Morocco with his girlfriend. The 24-year-old Brentford defender was just one day into his break in Marrakech when he got the call in the morning. Initially hesitant to answer while on vacation, he received a follow-up message and quickly booked flights back.

Van den Berg described the experience as "a great honour, a boyhood dream" and said he was well received by the squad, knowing many players from the Netherlands U21s and having faced others in club football. Despite the hectic 24 hours and minimal recovery time, he was straight onto the training pitch on Wednesday, even meeting with manager Xavi before the session.

"The last 24 hours were very hectic," he explained. "I had done nothing for two days, so it was tough, but I had a good training session. I understood today was the hardest training of the week anyway, so it's good to get straight into it."