Netherlands names 2026 World Cup squad: These are the 26 players chosen by Ronald Koeman
Koeman was due to confirm his squad on Monday but delayed the announcement by a couple of days. Two key midfielders miss out through injury.
Almost all of the 48 nations who will be taking part in this summer’s World Cup have confirmed their squad lists. Just a handful have yet to do so (including Canada, with Jesse Marsch due to unveil his roster on Friday).
One of the latest to finalize their list was the Netherlands. Ronald Koeman was due to confirm his 26-player squad on Monday but decided to hang fire and wait until he had last-minute updates on the fitness of several key players.
Kluivert gets the nod
The coach was anxious to get the latest on Justin Kluivert who has had a series of injuries throughout the season and underwent surgery on his knee back in January. The 27-year-old made his return in Bournemouth’s Week 36 fixture against Fulham but watched from the bench. He was given brief run-outs in the final two games of the season against Man City and Nottingham Forest. This will be his first World Cup after being omitted from the list for Qatar 2022.
Arsenal right-back Jurriën Timber is also included. The 24-year-old made 30 appearances for the Gunners in their title-winning campaign but missed the last eight games with an ankle issue, then a hip injury. He was only given the medical all-clear on Sunday.
Not so lucky is Xavi Simons who tore the ACL in his right knee during Tottenham’s league game against Wolves at the end of April. “Representing my country this summer... just gone. It’ll take time to find peace with this. I’ll walk this path now, guided by faith, with strength, with resilience, with belief, as I count down the days to getting back out there,” the distraught midfielder said at the time.
Also out is PSV captain Jerdy Schouten who suffered the same bad fortune in the match against Utrecht on April 4. He underwent surgery, faces six to nine months on the sidelines and will watch the World Cup from afar.
The Netherlands World Cup 2026 roster
Goalkeepers: Bart Verbruggen (Brighton & Hove Albion), Mark Flekken (Bayer Leverkusen), Robin Roefs (Sunderland)
Defenders: Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool), Denzel Dumfries (Internazionale), Nathan Aké (Manchester City), Jurriën Timber (Arsenal), Micky van de Ven (Tottenham Hotspur), Jeremie Frimpong (Liverpool), Jan Paul van Hecke (Brighton & Hove Albion), Jorrel Hato (Chelsea)
Midfielders: Marten de Roon (Atalanta), Tijjani Reijnders (Manchester City), Teun Koopmeiners (Juventus), Ryan Gravenberch (Liverpool), Quinten Timber (Marseille), Mats Wieffer (Brighton & Hove Albion), Guus Til (PSV), Crysencio Summerville (West Ham)
Forwards: Memphis Depay (Corinthians), Wout Weghorst (Ajax), Donyell Malen (Roma), Cody Gakpo (Liverpool), Noa Lang (Galatasaray), Brian Brobbey (Sunderland), Justin Kluivert (Bournemouth).
Depay one game away from equaling Van der Vaart
Elsewhere, all-time top scorer Memphis Depay features as one of Koeman’s seven forwards. Capped 108 times, the striker, who is now on the books at Corinthians in Brazil, will have the chance to edge past Rafael van der Vaart and possibly Frank de Boer in the national team’s all-time appearances ranking. Depay missed the Oranje’s recent friendlies against Norway and Ecuador with a hamstring injury.
Just two players have been included even though they have yet to debut for the senior side: third-choice goalkeeper Robin Roefs and West Ham winger Crysencio Summerville.
The final 26-player squads will be submitted to FIFA by June 1.
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