🏏 Sun, 30 Aug 2026 14:30 CEST
Willem II
vs
SC Heerenveen
4-2-3-1 vs 4-2-3-1
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Match Preview
- Willem II are still looking for their first point of the season. Two matches have brought two defeats, two goals scored and eight conceded for a goal difference of minus six, leaving the side that won promotion back at the first attempt down in 16th. Heerenveen arrive 11th on four points from three games, one win, one draw and one loss, while AZ Alkmaar set the pace with 12 points from four.
- The two teams' problems point in opposite directions. Willem II were beaten 4-1 away at Go Ahead Eagles on the opening weekend and then 4-1 at home by NEC Nijmegen, shipping eight goals in 180 minutes. Heerenveen opened with a 1-0 home win over Twente and drew 2-2 away at Ajax, but lost 2-0 at home to PEC Zwolle and have managed only three goals in three matches.
- The headline reunion belongs to Ringo Meerveld. The 23-year-old attacking midfielder, 1.77m tall and wearing Heerenveen's number 10, came through Den Bosch's academy and left for Willem II in a deal that set a club record for his boyhood side. He is now the creative pivot of this Heerenveen team, contributing goals as well as assists, and he returns to a ground he knows intimately.
- Two Willem II starters make the trip in reverse. Left-sided Nathan Tjoe-A-On, 24 and 1.82m, played for Heerenveen and Excelsior before a spell in England with Swansea, and 19-year-old Eser Gürbüz also arrived via Heerenveen. Gürbüz is a versatile forward capable of filling several attacking roles, which means the visiting defence will know exactly what it is dealing with.
- Both managers have set up in a 4-2-3-1, so the battle between the two double pivots should shape the game. Willem II pair Calvin Twigt, 23 and 1.83m, a strong presence in duels, with Kasper Boogaard, a 20-year-old passer schooled at AZ. Heerenveen counter with Dirk Proper, the 24-year-old NEC academy product who at 1.68m compensates with relentless running and ball recovery, and Nolhan Courtens, a 19-year-old Belgium under-17 international who passed through Anderlecht, Union Saint-Gilloise and Antwerp.
- The goalkeeping picture is unusual. Heerenveen start Bernt Klaverboer, a 20-year-old academy graduate and Netherlands under-21 international of 1.90m who took the number one shirt in September 2025. Behind him on the bench sits Andries Noppert, 32, the 2.03m goalkeeper who was the tallest player at the 2022 World Cup and started for the Netherlands there. Willem II hand the gloves to their own 22-year-old academy product, Karst de Leeuw.
- Dylan Vente leads the Heerenveen line. The 27-year-old right-footed striker, 1.81m, came through Feyenoord's academy and made his debut in a Champions League tie against Manchester City before spells at Roda JC and Hibernian in Scotland. Flanking him are Maxence Rivera, a 1.71m Frenchman of 24 who was developed at Saint-Étienne, and Denmark's Jacob Trenskow, 25, signed for around 1.5 million euros from Kalmar FF.
- Height is a Heerenveen asset at the back. Sam Kersten, 28 and 1.91m, arrived via PEC Zwolle and partners 1.90m Maas Willemsen, 23, a Twente academy graduate, in the middle. At left-back is Greece international Vasilios Zagaritis, 25, a left-footer who moved from Panathinaikos to Parma and helped them win Serie B and go up, with delivery from wide his strongest suit. Norwegian Oliver Braude, 22, takes the right.
- Willem II's squad leans on youth and loans. Justin Hoogma, 28 and 1.90m, brings German experience from Hoffenheim and Greuther Fürth alongside 1.88m Finn Stam, 23, on loan from Jong AZ. At right-back is Hidde ter Avest, 29, a long-serving regular at Utrecht and Twente who also played for Oxford United in England. Up front are two Feyenoord products: 22-year-old Devin Haen and 21-year-old Jaden Slory.