Netherlands at the World Cup 2026: Squad, fixtures, group and history
Tuesday, June 30, 2026
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Everything you need to know about the Netherlands at the 2026 World Cup: their fixtures, squad, qualifying record, key players, coach and tournament history.
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Ronald Koeman's Netherlands side, led by captain Virgil van Dijk, topped at FIFA World Cup 2026 Group F ahead of Japan, Sweden and Tunisia, but lost out on penalties in the round of 32 following a 1-1 draw against Morocco.
Below you will find everything you need to know about the Netherlands at the 2026 World Cup: their fixtures, squad, qualifying record, key players, coach and tournament history.
Netherlands at the World Cup 2026: At a glance
Coach: Ronald Koeman
Captain: Virgil van Dijk
World Cup appearances: 12
Best finish: Runners-up (1974, 1978, 2010)
Netherlands' World Cup matches
Group F: winners
14 June: Netherlands 2-2 Japan (Dallas)
20 June: Netherlands 5-1 Sweden (Houston)
26 June: Tunisia 1-3 Netherlands (Kansas City)
Knockout stage
30 June – round of 32: Netherlands 1-1 Morocco (Morocco win 3-2 on pens, Monterrey)
Netherlands' World Cup squad
The Netherlands' 26-man World Cup squad, included Manchester City midfielder Tijjani Reijnders and Liverpool trio Ryan Gravenberch, Cody Gakpo and Virgil van Dijk. Having broken Robin van Persie's record of 50 goals, Memphis Depay is the Oranje's all-time top international scorer.
How the Netherlands qualified for the World Cup
First place in Group G: W6 D2 L0 F27 A4
Finland 0-2 Netherlands
Netherlands 8-0 Malta
Netherlands 1-1 Poland
Lithuania 2-3 Netherlands
Malta 0-4 Netherlands
Netherlands 4-0 Finland
Poland 1-1 Netherlands
Netherlands 4-0 Lithuania
Top scorer: Memphis Depay (8 goals)
Netherlands coach: Ronald Koeman
A prolific goalscoring defender for Ajax, PSV and Barcelona, among others, Ronald Koeman won 78 caps and was a member of the Netherlands side that won the 1988 EURO. As a coach, he won Dutch titles with Ajax and PSV, and took charge of the likes of Benfica and Valencia. First hired as Netherlands coach in 2018, he left in 2020 to take charge of Barcelona, then returned for a second spell in 2023, steering the Oranje to the semi-finals of UEFA EURO 2024.
Netherlands captain: Virgil van Dijk
Closing in on 100 caps, including well over 70 as captain, central defender Van Dijk made his Netherlands debut in 2015 having established his reputation with spells at Groningen, Celtic (where he won two Scottish titles) and Southampton. Joining Liverpool in 2018, he was named UEFA Men's Player of the Year for 2018/19 after winning that season's UEFA Champions League, and subsequently helped the Reds to win two Premier League titles.
Netherlands' World Cup history
Most appearances: Wesley Sneijder, Robin van Persie (17)
Top scorer: Johnny Rep (7)
Best performance: Runners-up (1974, 1978, 2010)
World Cup 2022: Quarter-finals
The brilliant Netherlands sides of the 1970s were runners-up at two World Cups, and the Oranje came within sight of the prize again when they reached the 2010 decider, losing 1-0 to Spain after extra time. The Netherlands did not qualify for the 2002 and 2018 competitions but have never failed to make it through the group stage after qualifying for the finals.
Netherlands' UEFA Nations League fixtures: Group A2
24 September: Netherlands vs Germany (20:45)
27 September: Serbia vs Netherlands (18:00)
1 October: Greece vs Netherlands (20:45)
4 October: Netherlands vs Serbia (20:45)
13 November: Netherlands vs Greece (20:45)
16 November: Germany vs Netherlands (20:45)
All times CET.
