The Netherlands have announced their final 26-man World Cup team, and two Premier League stars won’t be joining them.
The Netherlands have just announced their final 26-player squad for the 2026 World Cup, with a few surprises along the way. Coach Ronald Koeman, who’s been leading the team since 2023, submitted a provisional squad earlier this month but kept it private until now.
Once again, Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk will captain the team. He led the Dutch all the way to the Euro 2024 semi-finals before they lost 2-1 to England. The squad has a strong Premier League vibe, with 14 players playing for clubs in England’s top league. Some of them are Arsenal’s Jurrien Timber, Tottenham’s Micky van de Ven, and Manchester City’s Tijjani Reijnders.
Memphis Depay, the Netherlands’ all-time top scorer who now plays for Brazilian team Corinthians, will be playing in his fourth World Cup. But the big talking point is that Liverpool defender Jeremie Frimpong was left out. He’s had a tough first season at Anfield after moving from Bayer Leverkusen. Instead, Timber and Denzel Dumfries have been chosen as right-back options.
Up front, Manchester United striker Joshua Zirkzee didn’t make the cut, with Bournemouth’s Justin Kluivert getting the nod after a great season.
Here’s the full squad:
Goalkeepers: Bart Verbruggen (Brighton), Robin Roefs (Sunderland), Mark Flekken (Bayer Leverkusen)
Defenders: Jurrien Timber (Arsenal), Micky van de Ven (Tottenham), Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool), Nathan Ake (Manchester City), Jorrel Hato (Chelsea), Denzel Dumfries (Inter Milan), Jan Paul van Hecke (Brighton)
Midfielders: Ryan Gravenberch (Liverpool), Tijjani Reijnders (Manchester City), Frenkie de Jong (Barcelona), Teun Koopmeiners (Juventus), Marten de Roon (Atalanta), Quinten Timber (Marseille), Guus Til (PSV), Mats Wieffer (Brighton)
Forwards: Brian Brobbey (Sunderland), Memphis Depay (Corinthians), Cody Gakpo (Liverpool), Justin Kluivert (Bournemouth), Noa Lang (Galatasaray), Donyell Malen (Roma), Crysencio Summerville (West Ham), Wout Weghorst (Ajax)
The Netherlands are in Group F for the World Cup. They’ll face Japan, Sweden, and Tunisia, playing each match in a different city across the US. Their first game is against Japan in Arlington, followed by games in Houston and Kansas City.
Japan named their squad earlier this month but will miss Brighton winger Kaoru Mitoma due to injury. Sweden also announced their team early, leaving out Tottenham’s Dejan Kulusevski, who hasn’t played in a year, and Barcelona’s young talent Roony Bardghji.
Before the tournament, Koeman’s team will play warm-up friendlies against Algeria and debutants Uzbekistan.
If the Netherlands get through their group, they could face tough teams like Brazil in the new round of 32. Brazil revealed their squad with a lot of attention just last week.
Frimpong’s absence is the biggest surprise, but he might still get a chance to play. Koeman delayed picking the final squad from May 25 to give injured players time to recover. Inter Milan defender Stefan de Vrij missed out because of a thigh injury. Timber, who might miss Arsenal’s Champions League final, has made the deadline though.
Teams can still swap players before their first World Cup match if needed, so changes could still happen.