Netherlands World Cup 2026 team guide

This article is part of the Guardian’s 2026 World Cup Experts’ Network , a cooperation between some of the best media organisations from the 48 countries who qualified. theguardian.com is running previews from three countries each day in the run-up to the tournament kicking off on 11 June. The plan Has Ronald Koeman ever started a major tournament with more headaches? Probably not. He is known as an exceptionally ambitious perfectionist, which means the preparation for this World Cup has been the most troublesome of all his years as the national-team head coach. Injuries are part and parcel of the game but it becomes a real problem when, in the run-up to a major tournament, around half the starting XI is either ruled out completely or sidelined for months. In the spring Koeman said he would only take players who were fully fit and playing regularly, but that stance became difficult to maintain. Tottenham’s Xavi Simons suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury in April and won’t be back until next year. The PSV midfielder Jerdy Schouten is also recovering from the same injury. Matthijs de Ligt, who has often partnered Virgil van Dijk in central defence, has not regained full fitness after a back problem. Barcelona’s Frenkie de Jong missed most of the season, Inter’s Denzel Dumfries was out for four months. Manchester City’s Tijjani Reijnders and Nathan Aké were often on the bench while Memphis Depay sustained a serious hamstring injury at the end of his season in Brazil. …