🏏 Sat, 8 Aug 2026 16:30 CEST
NEC Nijmegen
vs
Telstar
3-4-2-1 vs 4-2-3-1
Substitutes
Substitutes
Match Preview
- The Eredivisie season opens with newly promoted Telstar travelling to NEC Nijmegen. Left-back J. Hardeveld was a key figure in the promotion play-off run that ended the club's 47-year wait for top-flight football, while right winger Rui Mendes arrives with 15 Eerste Divisie goals from his promotion-winning spell at FC Emmen. Excelsior have already played their opening fixture and sit provisionally top on three points.
- NEC lead the line with 37-year-old Dusan Tadic. The Serbian attacker has built a long career across the Netherlands and England with Ajax, Southampton, Twente and Groningen, with spells at Al-Wahda and Fenerbahce along the way. At 181cm he offers a reference point up front, and how often he can turn and release the two shadow strikers behind him will shape NEC's attack.
- NEC's midfield four carries an unusually varied set of CVs. Jamiro Monteiro, 32, is a Cape Verde international who played at the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations and served as a Designated Player for Philadelphia Union in MLS. Alongside him, 22-year-old I. Hansen-Aaroen is a 188cm attacking midfielder schooled in Manchester United's academy, while 20-year-old Clement Bischoff arrived via Brondby and Red Bull Salzburg.
- The two shadow strikers behind Tadic offer contrasting profiles. T. Chery, 24, is a Suriname international attacking midfielder whose left foot supplies through-balls and shots from distance, having previously turned out for Queens Park Rangers and Maccabi Haifa. His partner N. Lebreton, 22, came through SM Caen's academy and made his professional debut in Ligue 2 before joining NEC as a supplier of decisive passes.
- NEC's back three is not built from natural centre-backs. D. Nejasmic, the 27-year-old Croatian raised at Hajduk Split and Osijek, is registered as a defensive midfielder and brings ball-winning instincts into the line. He is flanked by Deveron Fonville, a 29-year-old of just 174cm whose left foot drives the build-up, and 23-year-old French right-back B. Pereira, giving NEC a mobile, technically inclined defensive unit.
- Telstar's lone striker is 22-year-old Jelani Seedorf, nephew of former Netherlands international Clarence Seedorf, who came through Sparta Rotterdam's academy and also played for Excelsior. Behind him the visitors have loaded the second line with forward-minded players, including 27-year-old striker T. Owusu, who scored in the Eerste Divisie promotion campaign, and 25-year-old winger S. Hetli, a direct one-versus-one dribbler.
- One of the clearest individual duels comes down the flank. S. Ouaissa, the 21-year-old left-footed wide midfielder who joined from Roda JC, attacks from NEC's right with dribbling and pace. Facing him is 31-year-old J. Hardeveld, a left-back with substantial Eredivisie mileage at FC Utrecht, Heracles Almelo and FC Emmen, whose accurate left-footed crossing also makes him Telstar's set-piece taker.
- NEC's bench holds serious experience. P. Sandler is a 190cm ball-playing centre-back who came through Ajax's academy and had a spell at Manchester City, while 193cm Iceland international W. Willumsson is an unusually tall attacking midfielder who broke through in the Eredivisie with Go Ahead Eagles. Veteran striker B. Linssen, 35, has played for Feyenoord and Urawa Red Diamonds and remains a genuine finisher off the bench.
- NEC's squad list includes Japan internationals Koki Ogawa and Kota Sano, but neither is in the starting eleven or on the bench for this opener. Ogawa, a 186cm centre-forward who turns 29 on the day of this match, won the J2 MVP award after scoring 26 goals for Yokohama FC. Sano, 22, joined permanently from Fagiano Okayama, played at the U-20 World Cup and is the brother of Mainz midfielder Kaishu Sano.
- Telstar also have intriguing youth in reserve. E. Demircan, 21, was developed in Bayern Munich's academy, represents Turkey at youth level and featured at the 2024 UEFA U-19 European Championship. Isaiah Ahmed, a 20-year-old defensive midfielder of 186cm, moved from Alphense Boys into Heerenveen's academy and holds dual Dutch-Curacao nationality; either could change the rhythm late on.