🏏 Fri, 7 Aug 2026 20:00 CEST
Cambuur
vs
Excelsior
4-3-3 vs 4-3-3
Substitutes
Substitutes
Match Preview
- The Eredivisie season opens with a mirror-image tactical setup: both Cambuur and Excelsior line up in a 4-3-3. Cambuur's midfield trio pairs 26-year-old Nicky Souren, a veteran of MVV and Roda, with 21-year-old Utrecht native Rafik El Arguioui and 20-year-old Jong Ajax product Ryan van de Pavert. Excelsior counter with L. Hartjes (23, CM, 170cm), playmaker N. Naujoks (24, CAM) and Georgia-born I. Yegoian (22, 168cm). With three against three in the centre, whoever creates an overload first will set the tone.
- Cambuur's back four is unusually compact in stature, with 19-year-old Ajax academy graduate Lucas Jetten (166cm) on one flank and 26-year-old Rik Mulders (170cm), a former Den Bosch man, on the other. Only 27-year-old Jamal Amofa at 185cm offers genuine height and seniority in the middle. Excelsior's front line is built for exactly this kind of matchup: right winger G. de Regt (22, 176cm) and the 168cm Yegoian both thrive on agility and running in behind rather than physical duels.
- The aerial battle runs in the opposite direction. Cambuur field 187cm Skye Vink (20, ex-Jong Ajax) and 187cm Iwan Henstra (19) up front, with 193cm, 94kg Nicolas Binder (24, formerly Austria Klagenfurt) waiting on the bench. Excelsior answer with 190cm, 89kg centre-back R. Meissen (24), while 188cm Jan Plug (21), listed as a midfielder in the squad but starting in defence after spells at Feyenoord and Dordrecht, adds further presence. Set pieces and crossing situations could decide this one.
- The goalkeeping duel offers a clear contrast in experience. Cambuur's Thijs Jansen is a 192cm 24-year-old from Rotterdam who came through Feyenoord before spells at De Graafschap and FC Oss. Excelsior's S. van Gassel is 29 and 186cm, a long-serving first choice at Helmond Sport who returned via previous stints at Excelsior and NEC. His consistent shot-stopping and vocal organisation of the back line could prove telling against Cambuur's much younger defence.
- Down the flanks, the profiles differ sharply. Excelsior left-back S. Janssen (25, 179cm) relies on a strong left foot and relentless up-and-down running, delivering accurate crosses to stretch Cambuur's right side. On the opposite wing, 22-year-old G. de Regt looks to beat his man for pace or cut inside to shoot, working in tandem with Belgian Nolan Martens (22), who is listed as a forward in the squad but starts in the right side of the back four after a spell at De Graafschap.
- Excelsior's attacking blueprint runs through Naujoks. The 183cm number 10 dictates play with his passing accuracy and vision, threading through balls and taking set-piece duties. Around him, Hartjes provides ball-carrying in tight spaces and 23-year-old Daniël van Vianen, a former Dordrecht midfielder, adds legs. With Cambuur's midfield averaging just 20 to 21 years of age outside Souren, how far Naujoks can impose himself may define the contest.
- Cambuur's XI carries a strong Amsterdam development thread. Jetten came through Ajax, while Vink and van de Pavert both arrived from Jong Ajax, and all three are aged 19 or 20. Marshalling that young spine is 27-year-old Amofa, whose career has taken him through ADO Den Haag, Go Ahead Eagles and Botev Plovdiv. Whether the veteran can absorb the opening-day nerves around him will shape Cambuur's early solidity.
- The benches offer contrasting late-game options. Cambuur can turn to two players who came via Lille, French defender Morgan Costarelli (21) and midfielder Ethan Apkakou, plus Norwegian Fabian Kvam (20, formerly Mjondalen) and 188cm reserve goalkeeper Jasper Meijster (21, ex-Groningen). Excelsior hold back 192cm left-footed centre-back C. Widell (23), who captained Sweden at under-16 and under-17 level and whose brother Melker plays at Swansea, alongside 189cm Valentin Sulzbacher (21) from Red Bull Salzburg.
- Both squads are notably cosmopolitan for a matchday-one fixture. Cambuur include Lille-born Frenchman Ilyes Hamache (23, via Valenciennes, Schalke 04 and Amiens), Costarelli, Belgian centre-back Ismaël Baouf (19, from Anderlecht II and Charleroi), Kvam of Norway and Austrian Binder. Excelsior match that with Yegoian of Georgia, Swedes Widell and Yaqub Finey (formerly GIF Sundsvall), and Portuguese goalkeeper Celton Biai (25, via Guimaraes and Dordrecht).