Netherlands coach Xavi Hernandez has joined a growing chorus of top coaches criticizing FIFA’s expanded international window, warning that squeezing four Nations League matches into 11 days is putting players at greater risk of injury.
Instead of two international matches across nine days in both September and October, FIFA this year combined the two windows into one, creating a more demanding four-match stretch.
“This schedule is not good. Not for the national teams and not for the clubs that release their players and sometimes see them return injured,” Xavi told reporters on Saturday.
The Netherlands are already feeling the strain.
They have 23 fit players available for Sunday’s Group A2 match against Serbia in Eindhoven after Brian Brobbey, Lutsharel Geertruida, Cody Gakpo and Jan Paul van Hecke were injured during their previous three games and returned to their clubs.
“Scheduling such a packed calendar three months after the World Cup is asking for trouble,” Xavi said.
Players must also deal with training, travel and recovery between matches, making the schedule particularly difficult at this stage of the season, he added.
The Spaniard, appointed Netherlands coach in August, wants football authorities to reconsider.
“I would rather see us play two internationals,” Xavi said. “That would be better for everyone.”
He is hardly alone.
Germany coach Juergen Klopp called up 44 players in two separate squads to cope with the new window, although Germany have produced mixed results.
England manager Thomas Tuchel said switching between club and national-team training and playing styles already carried risks.
“This format only heightens those risks rather than alleviating them,” Tuchel said.
Spain’s World Cup-winning coach Luis de la Fuente has also come out against the change.
“I don’t like the new format; I prefer the old one,” he said last month. “It gave you more rest. In my opinion, it took better care of the players’ health.”
The November, March and June international windows will return to the usual nine-day, two-match format.
But the packed September-October schedule is not going away soon. FIFA has planned a combined 16-day window for the next four years, through 2030. Reuters
