The Netherlands look strong as Ronald Koeman names FIFA World Cup 2026 squad
Netherlands manager Ronald Koeman has announced his 26-man squad for FIFA World Cup 2026.
Netherlands boss Ronald Koeman has named a strong 26-man squad for FIFA World Cup 2026 in North America, as the three-time runners’ up seek to go deep this summer.
The Oranje’s squad appears to have a bit more depth than recent iterations but it remains headlined by captain Virgil van Dijk, coming off the back of an underwhelming and difficult campaign at Liverpool.
From a team perspective, Micky van de Ven has suffered this year, too, at Tottenham Hotspur but he is another big name defender alongside Nathan Ake, who has struggled for game time at Manchester City.
The surprise call in defence is that Jeremie Frimpong, who has endured that poor season alongside Van Dijk at Anfield, has been left out with Koeman trusting that versatile Arsenal defender Jurrien Timber will indeed be ready to go after suffering from injury in the build-up to the tournament.
In the middle of the park, Barcelona’s Frenkie de Jong will remain fundamental to the Dutch but he is joined by some big names such as Tijjani Reijnders and Ryan Gravenberch.
An injury to Xavi Simons has weakened the Dutch forward line but there are still some big and experienced names like Memphis Depay, Cody Gakpo and in-form Donyell Malen; while Crysencio Summerville and Justin Kluivert are among the surprise inclusions.
The goalkeeping spot will be fought for between Brighton and Hove Albion’s Bart Verbruggen, Sunderland goalkeeper Robin Roefs and Bayer Leverkusen’s number one Mark Flekken, formerly of Brentford.
