🏏 Sat, 8 Aug 2026 18:45 CEST
GO Ahead Eagles
vs
Willem II
4-2-3-1 vs 4-2-3-1
Substitutes
Substitutes
Match Preview
- Matchday 1 of the Eredivisie season, and the opener for both clubs. Elsewhere in the round Excelsior already sit top on three points with a +4 goal difference, Telstar are second on three points, while NEC Nijmegen (-1) and Cambuur (-4) have dropped their first games. Go Ahead Eagles and Willem II begin their campaigns here.
- The shapes do not line up neatly: Go Ahead Eagles set out in a 4-2-3-1, Willem II in a 4-3-3, so the midfield count will decide who controls the tempo. The hosts pair Manchester United academy graduate and former Sampdoria man Mele Meulensteen (27, CDM) with box-to-box runner Evert Linthorst (26, CM), at the club since 2022. Willem II answer with a mixed trio of AZ Alkmaar product Kasper Boogaard (20), 170cm teenager Uriel van Aalst (19) and 30-year-old Alessandro Ciranni, a veteran of Genk, Fortuna Sittard and Mouscron.
- Height is the obvious weapon for the hosts. Lone striker Stefan Ingi Sigurdarson (23, 191cm) came through Breidablik in Iceland and joined from Sandefjord for a fee close to the club record, while No. 10 Soren Tengstedt (26, 187cm) scored 18 goals with six assists in 84 games for Silkeborg IF as a post-up target man. Willem II counter with a tall centre-back pairing in Justin Hoogma (190cm) and Finn Stam (188cm).
- Jaden Slory starts in the Willem II front three against a former club: the 21-year-old, 175cm attacker came through Feyenoord and had spells at Dordrecht and Go Ahead Eagles. How the visiting attacker fares against the Eagles' left-footed pair of Joris Kramer (30) and Julius Dirksen (23) is one of the key duels of the night.
- There is a second reunion angle on the benches. Willem II substitute Thomas Verheydt (34, 192cm) played for Go Ahead Eagles after spells at ADO Den Haag and Almere City, while the Eagles have Calvin Twigt (23, 183cm) in reserve, a midfielder whose previous clubs include Willem II. Either late change would be a player facing former employers.
- Both goalkeepers are big men with well-travelled resumes. Kjetil Haug (28, 190cm) is a Norwegian who came out of the Manchester City academy and moved from Valerenga to Toulouse in 2022. Willem II's Thomas Didillon (30, 193cm) has the deeper CV, with time at Monaco, Anderlecht, Cercle Brugge, Genk and Metz behind him.
- The Eagles squad has a strong Nordic accent. Iceland is represented by Sigurdarson and right-back Sampsted, a two-time Norwegian league champion with Bodo/Glimt who also played in England with Birmingham City and holds the Iceland U21 caps record. Add Norwegian keeper Haug, Sweden's Viktor Edvardsen (30, formed at Djurgarden and IFK Goteborg) and Denmark's Tengstedt.
- Go Ahead Eagles field two left-footers in their back line. Centre-back Joris Kramer (30, 187cm) is an AZ Alkmaar academy graduate with previous loan ties to the club and was part of the 2024-25 KNVB Cup-winning side, while left-back Julius Dirksen (23) came through Ajax and made his Eredivisie debut at Emmen. Kramer's partner Dean James (26) was schooled at Ajax and Volendam and opted to represent Indonesia at international level in 2025.
- The home bench offers varied attacking options. Norwegian left winger Oscar Sivertsen (22) made his Eliteserien debut at 16 with Kristiansund BK, Belgian striker Thibo Baeten (24) came through the Club Brugge academy and has played in Italy with Torino, and 191cm Suriname international Riconell Margaret (25) is the aerial alternative if the game needs a target man.