The Netherlands moved one step closer to World Cup qualification with a win over Malta on Thursday, with Jurrien Timber operating as a centre-back.
Jurrien Timber generally operates as a right-back for Arsenal, but that’s not the case with his national team.
Of Timber’s 20 international appearances, Transfermarkt stats have him as a right-back on only three occasions, the most recent of which was in March 2023.
The 24-year-old most often plays at centre-back with the Netherlands, though he’s also made three appearances at left-back. In Thursday’s starting lineup against Malta, Timber took up a central role alongside Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk, earning decent reviews for his performance.
The lineup would have thrown up a few surprises for fans of Premier League clubs, with Tottenham Hotspur’s Micky van de Ven shifted out to left-back, and Liverpool right-back Jeremie Frimpong operating as a winger.
Only one of Frimpong’s seven appearances for Liverpool has been as a winger, and just three of van de Ven’s 61 appearances for Spurs have been on the left. But internationally, Timber is usually a centre-back, Frimpong is usually a winger, and van de Ven is usually a left-back.
There was never any risk of the makeshift side failing to secure all three points from the contest, and Timber helped the team to a clean sheet in a 4-0 victory.
The Netherlands remain top of their World Cup qualification group, three points ahead of Poland in second. A win in their second game of the break against Finland would put them in a great position ahead of their decisive game against Poland on November 14th.
Only one country from each group qualifies automatically for the final tournament, though the runner-up gets a second chance through the play-offs.
The Netherlands aren’t yet guaranteed a top-two finish, with Finland also just three points behind with a couple of games to play. But a win over Finland on Sunday would ensure a play-off finish at the very least.