Xavi Simons scored his very first goal for the Dutch national team on Monday. The attacking midfielder of RB Leipzig spoke with the RB Leipzig after the match against Iceland (4-0 win). NOS and became slightly irritated at the end of that conversation. Rafael van der Vaart praises Simons for that response.

Jeremie Frimpong is quickly making waves in the Dutch national team as a right winger. The Bayer Leverkusen winger is considered a competitor for Simons in that position, but the latter sees it very differently.

“What do you mean competitor?”, Simons asks the reporter with slight irritation in his voice NOS. “He's just a teammate.”

Frimpong had an unprecedented season at his club and seems to be continuing that trend with the Dutch national team. “I enjoy him too. He had an excellent season at Leverkusen. I also had an excellent season at Leipzig. He is my friend.”

“I'm happy for him,” says Simons. “That's important. We shouldn't create competition. It's just a teammate who also plays there, the best for the team.”

Van der Vaart reacts positively to Simons' interview on the field in De Kuip. “I think this is a good answer,” says Van der Vaart. “I'm also getting a bit tired of those questions, of creating some kind of friction. And maybe that's what I have to do as a journalist, I don't know anything about that, but I think Xavi responded well.”

Simons is not yet sure of his place on Sunday at the European Championship against Poland. “Of course he wants to play himself, but if he is just good, he will play,” says Van der Vaart. “Today he scored. He could have said: 'I'm happy with that.' He doesn't do that either.”

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