<p>His uncle Jan Poortvliet played in defence for the Dutch in the 1978 final, where they lost the deciding game to hosts Argentina in extra time.</p><p>Van Hecke is expected to be in ‌the line-up on Sunday in Dallas when they get their Group F ‌campaign underway against Japan, partnering captain Virgil van Dijk in ‌central defence.</p><p><strong>“An enormous feeling of pride,” </strong>he told reporters.<strong> “It’s fantastic to be here.”</strong></p><p>Van Hecke gets his chance after Jurrien Timber was ruled out of the ‌tournament by injury.</p><p><strong>“It’s my dream, but it was ⁠also his dream,” </strong>Van Hecke ‌said.<strong> “It’s a real shame that his dream has fallen apart.”</strong></p><p>Ironically, Van Hecke’s ​uncle also broke into the Dutch team in 1978 in similar circumstances, having debuted for the Netherlands a fortnight ​before the World Cup kicked off and being picked for the squad as something of an outsider.</p><p>But when first-choice left-back Hugo Hovenkamp ⁠got injured, Poortvliet got ​to play.</p><p><strong>“Hugo was in the form of his life, but that’s how things sometimes go,” </strong>Poortvliet told Dutch NOS television.</p><p>He went on to play six matches in Argentina, showing his versatility at left-back, right-back and ‌as a defensive midfielder.</p>

Uncle coached nephew

<p>Poortvliet, now 70, has managed several Dutch clubs, was at Southampton for six months in 2008 and briefly coached Van Hecke at under-17 level.</p><p><strong>“Even then he had that strong determination to seize every opportunity,” </strong>he said of his nephew, now at Brighton & Hove Albion.</p><p><strong>“Jan Paul is so stable, impossible to knock off course, both in football and in life. What he has achieved is very impressive. He may occasionally have a ‌poor game, but he stays focused.”</strong></p><p>Van Hecke told reporters last week ​he expected a tough start for the Dutch against Japan.</p><p><strong>“We’re ‌facing a strong opponent right away. Winning 1–0 at Wembley against England says a lot. In my opinion, my teammate (Kaoru) Mitoma was their best player.</strong></p><p><strong>“I’m very sorry for him that he had to withdraw from the World Cup because of injury ⁠and will miss the tournament. ⁠But even without Mitoma, Japan ‌have a strong team,” </strong>Van Hecke said.</p>