Netherlands are ranked only eighth favourites to win the 2026 World Cup, below Spain, France, Argentina, Brazil, England, Portugal and Germany. Depending where you draw the line, they are either the worst of the realistic contenders or the best of the rest.
Yet there is plenty of evidence to suggest that is a pessimistic view of one of the best squads in North America this summer. Netherlands have one of Europe’s form strikers in Donyell Malen, who scored 14 goals in 18 Serie A games since joining Roma in January, much to the surprise of Aston Villa fans. They have Frenkie de Jong, Ryan Gravenberch and Tijjani Reijnders in midfield. And the defence is like something from a Premier League fantasy team.
Virgil van Dijk, Micky van de Ven, Nathan Ake and Jurrien Timber are an elite quartet, and that is before you get to the power of right-back Denzel Dumfries – about to join Real Madrid from Inter as Jose Mourinho’s first marquee signing since returning to the Bernabeu. Chelsea’s Jorrel Hato and Brighton’s Jan Paul van Hecke add strength in depth.
Goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen is developing into a hugely talented player in his own right, but he feels more secure knowing who will be standing in front of him when the Netherlands begin their World Cup campaign, against ***** an on 14 June.
“It makes my life a bit easier, that’s for sure,” Verbruggen says. “As a competitor, you always want to play against the best players but you also want to beat them, and in order to beat them you need the best players on your side as well. And I’ve got the big privilege to be able to play with a defensive line that I think is up there with the best in the world.”
Yet there is plenty of evidence to suggest that is a pessimistic view of one of the best squads in North America this summer. Netherlands have one of Europe’s form strikers in Donyell Malen, who scored 14 goals in 18 Serie A games since joining Roma in January, much to the surprise of Aston Villa fans. They have Frenkie de Jong, Ryan Gravenberch and Tijjani Reijnders in midfield. And the defence is like something from a Premier League fantasy team.
Virgil van Dijk, Micky van de Ven, Nathan Ake and Jurrien Timber are an elite quartet, and that is before you get to the power of right-back Denzel Dumfries – about to join Real Madrid from Inter as Jose Mourinho’s first marquee signing since returning to the Bernabeu. Chelsea’s Jorrel Hato and Brighton’s Jan Paul van Hecke add strength in depth.
Goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen is developing into a hugely talented player in his own right, but he feels more secure knowing who will be standing in front of him when the Netherlands begin their World Cup campaign, against ***** an on 14 June.
“It makes my life a bit easier, that’s for sure,” Verbruggen says. “As a competitor, you always want to play against the best players but you also want to beat them, and in order to beat them you need the best players on your side as well. And I’ve got the big privilege to be able to play with a defensive line that I think is up there with the best in the world.”
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