The Netherlands enter the 2022 FIFA World Cup as an international conundrum. They produce some of the top talent in European clubs but have lagged behind at international level for almost the last decade.
After a stellar performance at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, where they finished third in the third-place play-off with a 3-0 win over hosts Brazil, it was nothing but disappointment for the Oranje.
They failed to qualify for either Euro 2016 or the 2018 World Cup and were eliminated in the round of 16 of Euro 2020.
Louis van Gaal, the manager for their 2014 World Cup run, returned to take the helm after the disappointment at Euro 2020 last August and he has this talented group poised for a course correction in Qatar.
The Dutch are believed to be the strongest side in Group A thanks to the presence of hosts Qatar, but have their hands full with Senegal and Ecuador, plus a potential hosting boost for Qatar.
Still, this is a squad that explodes in front of top European club talent and they will prove a dangerous presence if they make it to the knockout stages as expected. Anything other than a place in the quarter-finals should be a disappointment for the Dutch.
MORE: A closer look at Netherlands’ group opponents at the FIFA World Cup
Expected Netherlands World Cup squad 2022
Managing Director Louis van Gaal has until Friday 21 October to provide FIFA with an official provisional list of 35-55 players from which he will select his final 26-man roster for Qatar by Monday 14 November.
Based on last year’s World Cup qualifying squads and friendlies, these are the names closest to Van Gaal’s provisional list.
| position | player | association | Age | caps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| goalkeeper | Remko Pasveer | Ajax | 38 | 2 |
| goalkeeper | Jasper Cillessen | NEC Nijmegen (NED) | 33 | 63 |
| goalkeeper | Markus Flekken | Friborg (GER) | 29 | 4 |
| goalkeeper | Andries Noppert | Heerenveen | 28 | |
| defender | Virgil van Dijk | Liverpool (GER) | 31 | 49 |
| defender | Nathan Ake | Manchester City (GER) | 27 | 29 |
| defender | Stefan de Vrij | International (ITA) | 30 | 59 |
| defender | Daley blind | Ajax | 32 | 94 |
| defender | Matthijs de Ligt | Bayern Munich (GER) | 23 | 38 |
| defender | Tyrell Malacia | Manchester United (ENG) | 23 | 6 |
| defender | Jurrien wood | Ajax | 21 | 10 |
| defender | Bruno Martins Indi | AZ Alkmaar (NED) | 30 | 36 |
| defender | Devyne Rensch | Ajax | 19 | 1 |
| defender | Denzel Dumfries | International (ITA) | 26 | 37 |
| defender | Hans Hateboer | Atalanta (ITA) | 28 | 13 |
| defender | Jordan Teze | PSV Eindhoven (NED) | 23 | 3 |
| defender | Sven Botman | Newcastle (ENG) | 22 | |
| midfield player | Frenkie deJong | Barcelona (Spain) | 25 | 45 |
| midfield player | David Klaassen | Ajax | 29 | 35 |
| midfield player | Steven Berghuis | Ajax | 30 | 39 |
| midfield player | Marten deRoon | Atalanta (ITA) | 31 | 30 |
| midfield player | Ryan Gravenberch | Bayern Munich (GER) | 20 | 11 |
| midfield player | Kenneth Taylor | Ajax | 20 | 2 |
| midfield player | Donny van de Beek | Man United (ENG) | 25 | 19 |
| midfield player | Teun Koopmeiners | Atalanta (ITA) | 24 | 9 |
| midfield player | Jordy Clasie | AZ Alkmaar (NED) | 31 | 17 |
| midfield player | Georginio Wijnaldum | AS Roma (ITA) | 31 | 86 |
| midfield player | Guus Til | PSV Eindhoven (NED) | 24 | 5 |
| midfield player | Jerdy Schouten | Bologna (ITA) | 25 | 1 |
| Forward | Memphis Depay | Barcelona (Spain) | 28 | 81 |
| Forward | Steven Bergwijn | Ajax | 25 | 24 |
| Forward | Cody Gakpo | PSV Eindhoven (NED) | 23 | 9 |
| Forward | Wout Weghorst | Beşiktaş (TUR) | 30 | fifteen |
| Forward | Vincent Janssen | Royal Antwerp (BEL) | 28 | 20 |
| Forward | Luuk de Jong | PSV Eindhoven (NED) | 32 | 38 |
| Forward | Arnaut Danjuma | Villarreal (SPA) | 25 | 6 |
| Forward | Donyell Paint | Borussia Dortmund (DE) | 23 | 19 |
| Forward | Noah Lang | Club Brugge (BEL) | 23 | 5 |
Final 26-man World Cup squad of the Netherlands
Cuts will be made across the board as Louis van Gaal has some young players available but he will try to gain experience where possible and will likely miss some of those promising youngsters at this time.
Below is a projected final 26ma roster assuming all its players are fit and ready to go.
| position | player | association | Age | caps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| goalkeeper | Remko Pasveer | Ajax | 38 | 2 |
| goalkeeper | Jasper Cillessen | NEC Nijmegen (NED) | 33 | 63 |
| goalkeeper | Markus Flekken | Friborg (GER) | 29 | 4 |
| defender | Virgil van Dijk | Liverpool (GER) | 31 | 49 |
| defender | Nathan Ake | Manchester City (ENG) | 27 | 29 |
| defender | Stefan de Vrij | International (ITA) | 30 | 59 |
| defender | Daley blind | Ajax | 32 | 94 |
| defender | Matthijs de Ligt | Bayern Munich (GER) | 23 | 38 |
| defender | Tyrell Malacia | Man United (ENG) | 23 | 6 |
| defender | Jurrien wood | Ajax | 21 | 10 |
| defender | Denzel Dumfries | International (ITA) | 30 | 36 |
| defender | Hans Hateboer | Atalanta (ITA) | 28 | 13 |
| midfield player | Frenkie deJong | Barcelona (Spain) | 25 | 45 |
| midfield player | David Klaassen | Ajax | 29 | 35 |
| midfield player | Steven Berghuis | Ajax | 30 | 39 |
| midfield player | Marten deRoon | Atalanta (ITA) | 31 | 30 |
| midfield player | Ryan Gravenberch | Bayern Munich (GER) | 20 | 11 |
| midfield player | Kenneth Taylor | Ajax | 20 | 2 |
| midfield player | Teun Koopmeiners | Atalanta (ITA) | 24 | 9 |
| midfield player | Jordy Clasie | AZ Alkmaar (NED) | 31 | 17 |
| Forward | Memphis Depay | Barcelona (Spain) | 28 | 81 |
| Forward | Steven Bergwijn | Ajax | 25 | 24 |
| Forward | Cody Gakpo | PSV Eindhoven (NED) | 23 | 9 |
| Forward | Wout Weghorst | Beşiktaş (TUR) | 30 | fifteen |
| Forward | Vincent Janssen | Royal Antwerp (BEL) | 28 | 20 |
| Forward | Donyell Paint | Borussia Dortmund (DE) | 23 | 19 |
The stars, strengths and weaknesses of the Netherlands national team
The Netherlands will try to make a statement after years of international disappointment. They missed the 2018 World Cup in Russia and failed to reach the round of 16 at Euro 2020.
Manager Van Gaal is as experienced as they can get, leading the Dutch side to the top of their World Cup qualifying group with seven wins out of ten.
Van Gaal’s coaching record is excellent – he led Barcelona and Manchester United at club level while also taking charge of the Oranje at the 2014 World Cup, where they finished third and beat hosts Brazil 3-0 in the third-place play-off.
Stars
The Dutch team is captained by the Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk, who developed into one of the best players in the world during his time at Anfield. However, the Orajne leader has struggled for form at club level this season, leading to questions at the back for Van Gaal given a wealth of options at his disposal.
Your biggest goal threat is the Barcelona striker Memphis Depay, who has managed to maintain his international form despite playing a bench role for the Blaugrana.
Strengthen
The Oranje have a wide array of young talents across the field, including the PSV winger Cody Gakpo lead the revolution. defender Jurrien wood and Tyrell Malacia are watching other young players while Bayern midfielders Ryan Gravenberch could be a useful banking option.
Defensively, the Dutch are extremely low. Van Dijk may not be in shape but he remains a top player Stefan de Vrij, Matthijs de Ligt, Jurrien woodand Daley blind all play at a high level for their big European clubs.
Van Gaal will look to capitalize on that strength, using a three-CB system and bringing as many of his best defenders onto the field as possible.
weaknesses
The biggest missing component of the Dutch squad is experience. With all his successes for club and country, Van Dijk has never played in a major international tournament. He missed Euro 2020 with a cruciate ligament rupture and the Netherlands didn’t qualify for either Euro 2016 or the 2018 World Cup.
Experienced executives behind Van Dijk Giorginio Wijnaldum and Bruno Martins Indi They are unlikely to make the final roster, just leave Frenkie deJong and Daley blind like the other ubiquitous members.
In terms of position, the greatest weakness in the Netherlands is undoubtedly the goalkeeper. Tim Krul dismissed by Van Gaal after failing to show up for penalty practice in September and former starter Jasper Cillessen appears to have lost his spot to the 38-year-old Ajax shot-stopper Remko Pasveer. There is a lot of uncertainty between the hives among the Dutch.
Netherlands World Cup group
The Orange were drawn in Group A of the FIFA World Cup 2022. Only the The top two teams in each group advance.
The Netherlands are the best-placed team in Group A thanks to the presence of hosts Qatar as a Pot 1 side.
The Dutch will open the tournament against Sadio Mane and Senegal before taking on Ecuador and Qatar, while having to watch out for the host boost that has proved a real threat over the years.
World Cup Group A fixtures and schedule
| date | Fit | time (ET) | Stadion |
| Sun, Nov 20 | Qatar vs Ecuador | 11 clock | Al Bayt Stadium |
| Mon, Nov 21 | Senegal vs. Netherlands | 11 clock | Al Thumama Stadium |
| Fri, Nov 25 | Qatar vs Senegal | 8 o’clock | Al Thumama Stadium |
| Fri, Nov 25 | Netherlands against Ecuador | 11 clock | Khalifa International Stadium |
| Tue, Nov 29 | Netherlands against Qatar | 10 am | Al Bayt Stadium |
| Tue, Nov 29 | Ecuador vs Senegal | 10 am | Khalifa International Stadium |
Netherlands World Cup squad, line-up
Van Gaal opens the tournament against a strong Senegalese side and will likely try to field as many of their best defenders as possible. It looks plausible that he will use two high-flying full-backs to flank his key midfielders and put players high on the field. They will be a force that Senegal will have to contend with.
Netherlands projected starting XI against Senegal
Expected starting line-up Netherlands (3-4-3): Cillessen (GK) – De Vrij, Van Dijk, De Ligt – Dumfries, Klaassen, De Jong, Blind – Gakpo, Depay, Bergwijn.
Can the Netherlands replace players in the World Cup squad?
Once the final 26-man squad is official, teams participating in the World Cup can only make changes prior to the first game of the tournament and only in exceptional circumstances.
According to the Official Tournament Rules (page 32), “A player named on the final list may only be substituted in the event of a serious injury or illness up to 24 hours before the start of his team’s first game.”
The team in question would have to submit a medical report to FIFA and if the world governing body determines that “the injury or illness is so serious that the player is unable to play at the FIFA World Cup”, the replacement will be allowed.
The substitute player must be from the provisional list of players submitted to FIFA in October.
