The Netherlands entered the FIFA 2022 World Cup as an international enigma. They produce some of the top talent across the European club landscape but have fallen short at the international level for almost the last decade.
Following a superb showing at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, where they finished third by beating hosts Brazil 3-0 in the third-place match, it has been nothing but disappointment for the Oranje.
They failed to qualify for either Euro 2016 or the 2018 World Cup, and were bounced in the Round of 16 at Euro 2020.
Louis van Gaal, the manager for their 2014 World Cup run, returned to take over last August following the Euro 2020 disappointment, and he has this talented group poised for a course correction in Qatar.
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Netherlands World Cup squad 2022
Manager Louis van Gaal cut down his provisional squad to 26 players ahead of the FIFA deadline with the majority of his key names on the plane to Qatar.
Here it is. Our World Cup squad! 🦁🇳🇱#NothingLikeOranje | #FIFAWorldCup pic.twitter.com/s4KMWBvJQU
— OnsOranje (@OnsOranje) November 11, 2022
Barcelona duo Memphis Depay and Frenkie de Jong were included despite fitness concerns over the pair.
Here's the names in the Oranje squad. Caps and Stats correct as of start of Qatar 2022.
| Position | No. | Player | Club | Age | Caps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GK | 1 | Remko Pasveer | Ajax (NED) | 38 | 2 |
| GK | 22 | Andries Noppert | Heerenveen (NED) | 28 | 0 |
| GK | 13 | Justin Bijlow | Feyenoord (NED) | 24 | 6 |
| DEF | 4 | Virgil van Dijk | Liverpool (ENG) | 31 | 49 |
| DEF | 5 | Nathan Ake | Manchester City (ENG) | 27 | 29 |
| DEF | 26 | Jeremie Frimpong | Bayer Leverkusen (NED) | 21 | 0 |
| DEF | 6 | Stefan de Vrij | Inter (ITA) | 30 | 59 |
| DEF | 17 | Daley Blind | Ajax (NED) | 32 | 94 |
| DEF | 3 | Matthijs de Ligt | Bayern Munich (GER) | 23 | 38 |
| DEF | 16 | Tyrell Malacia | Manchester United (ENG) | 23 | 6 |
| DEF | 2 | Jurrien Timber | Ajax (NED) | 21 | 10 |
| DEF | 22 | Denzel Dumfries | Inter (ITA) | 26 | 37 |
| MID | 21 | Frenkie de Jong | Barcelona (SPA) | 25 | 45 |
| MID | 14 | Davy Klassen | Ajax (NED) | 29 | 35 |
| MID | 25 | Xavi Simons | PSV Eindhoven (NED) | 19 | 0 |
| MID | 11 | Steven Berghuis | Ajax (NED) | 30 | 39 |
| MID | 15 | Marten de Roon | Atalanta (ITA) | 31 | 30 |
| MID | 24 | Kenneth Taylor | Ajax (NED) | 20 | 2 |
| MID | 20 | Teun Koopmeiners | Atalanta (ITA) | 24 | 9 |
| FWD | 10 | Memphis Depay | Barcelona (SPA) | 28 | 81 |
| FWD | 7 | Steven Bergwijn | Ajax (NED) | 25 | 24 |
| FWD | 8 | Cody Gakpo | PSV Eindhoven (NED) | 23 | 9 |
| FWD | 19 | Wout Weghorst | Besiktas (TUR) | 30 | 15 |
| FWD | 18 | Vincent Janssen | Royal Antwerp (BEL) | 28 | 20 |
| FWD | 9 | Luuk de Jong | PSV Eindhoven (NED) | 32 | 38 |
| FWD | 12 | Noa Lang | Club Brugge (BEL) | 23 | 5 |
WORLD CUP 2022 SELECTED SQUADS:
Australia | Argentina | Belgium | Brazil | Cameroon
Canada | Costa Rica | Croatia | Denmark | England
France | Germany | Ghana | Iran | Japan | Mexico
Netherlands | Poland | Portugal | Qatar | Senegal
Serbia | Spain | Switzerland | Uruguay | USA | Wales
Netherlands national team stars, strengths & weaknesses
The Netherlands are looking to make a statement after years of international disappointment. They missed the 2018 World Cup in Russia and failed to exit the Round of 16 at Euro 2020.
Manager Van Gaal is as experienced as they come, leading the Dutch side to the top of their World Cup qualifying group, with seven wins from 10.
Van Gaal's coaching record is superb — he led Barcelona and Manchester United at the club level, while also taking charge of the Oranje at the 2014 World Cup, where they finished third, beating hosts Brazil 3-0 in the third-place match.
Stars
The Dutch side is captained by Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk, who has emerged as one of the best players in the world during his time at Anfield. However, the Orajne leader has struggled for form this season at club level, leading to questions at the back for Van Gaal with a wealth of options at his disposal.
Their main goalscoring threat is Barcelona forward Memphis Depay, who has managed to maintain his international form despite playing a bench role for the Blaugrana.
Strengths
The Oranje have a wealth of young talent to choose from all over the field, with PSV winger Cody Gakpo leading the revolution. Defenders Jurrien Timber and Tyrell Malacia are other young players to watch.
Defensively, the Dutch are extremely deep. Van Dijk may not be in form but he remains a top player, while Stefan de Vrij, Matthijs de Ligt, Jurrien Timber, and Daley Blind are all playing at a high level for their big European clubs.
Van Gaal will look to use this strength by deploying a three-CB system and get as many of his best defenders on the field as he can.
Weaknesses
The biggest missing component of the Dutch side is experience. For all his success for club and country, Van Dijk has not played in a major international tournament. He missed Euro 2020 with an ACL tear, and the Netherlands did not qualify for both Euro 2016 and the 2018 World Cup.
Behind Van Dijk, former experienced leaders Giorginio Wijnaldum and Bruno Martins Indi have not made the squad, leaving just Frenkie de Jong and Daley Blind as the other ever-present members.
Positionally, the biggest weakness for the Netherlands is without a doubt at goalkeeper. Tim Krul has been cast out by Van Gaal after failing to turn up for penalty training session in September, and previous starter Jasper Cillessen lost his place to 38-year-old Ajax shot-stopper Remko Pasveer.
Can Netherlands replace players on World Cup roster?
Once the final 26-man roster was official, participating teams at the World Cup could only make changes before the first game of the tournament, and only in the case of extraordinary circumstances.
According to the official tournament rules (page 32), "a player listed on the final list may only be replaced in the event of serious injury or illness up until 24 hours before the start of his team's first match."
