2026 World Cup Team Notes: Netherlands: They always have good defenders, but they always lack the last breath.

The Netherlands has four strong phases.

But I don't put them in the first bracket of the championship.

These words are cruel to Dutch fans, because they know "almost" too well.

In 1974, Cruyff's Netherlands turned football into a geometry lesson. West Germany didn't let the ball touch the ball at the beginning and created a point. Neeskens made a penalty. Then they lost. Reached the final again in 1978 and lost again. In South Africa in 2010, Robben faced Casillas alone in the 62nd minute. His toe block later became the most painful stop in Dutch football. In 2014, Robin van Persie leapt to the top of Spain, Robben flew all the way, and the Netherlands looked as beautiful as revenge, but in the end they still stopped in the semi-finals.

The match against Argentina in 2022 is also a game with a strong Dutch flavor.

They were down 2-0 and Wehorst came up and headed the ball back first. In the 101st minute of stoppage time, the free kick was not shot directly, but the ground ball was stuffed behind the wall. Verhorst turned and pushed, 2-2. At that moment you will feel that Dutch football is not only beautiful, but also cunning and tough.

But in the penalty shootout, Argentina still walked away.

The problem in the Netherlands is not that it has no structure.

This team has a tough backcourt. Van Dijk is still the face of the defense, and De Ligt, Ake, Van der Ven, and De Vrij have given the Netherlands various central defender combinations. Dumfries and Frimpong can play the right wing in two ways: one like a collision and the other like a sprint. On the left, there are experienced players like Ake and Blind, as well as younger speed options.

The midfield isn't bad either. Frenkie de Jong, if healthy, is the best player in the Netherlands to take the ball out of pressure. People like Reinders, Hrafenberch, Schouten, and Kupmenas can give the Netherlands a different rhythm in the midfield. Harvey Simmons is the kind of guy who tends to brighten up a game.

What really gives me pause is the frontcourt.

Gakpo has impact and can also cut inside. Depay has experience and footwork, and can sometimes make unreasonable kicks at the front of the penalty area. Mullen, Brobey, Zirkzee, and Wehorst all have their own functions. But what the championship team needs is a stable "last shot." The Netherlands' current frontcourt is more like a box of tools than a knife that is sharpened every day.

This is the embarrassment of the Netherlands.

Their backcourt is championship-level, their midfield is semi-final-level, but their frontcourt often determines whether they are a semi-finalist or a champion.

The best way for the Netherlands to win is to first turn the game into a contest of body and space. The backcourt holds up, the wing-backs press forward, and the midfielder immediately transfers the ball to the wing, allowing Gakpo or Simmons to handle it before the opponent's defense has established its footing. If the game goes into set pieces and two penalty kicks, the Netherlands are not afraid. They have height, confrontation, and someone who can create chaos in the penalty area.

What they fear most is a long-term siege by themselves.

There was a lot of ball control, a lot of crosses, and a lot of people in the penalty area, but the actual shooting quality was not high. Once the Netherlands is dragged into this situation of "it looks like they are pressing, but it actually doesn't hurt", the game will become anxious. The more anxious you are, the easier it is to send the ball to the wing and then into the penalty area, which eventually becomes the opponent's central defender's favorite defensive exercise.

My judgment on the Netherlands is: they can beat any strong team, but it is difficult to win three consecutive knockout games in the same stable way.

This is not a question of talent, but a question of finishing efficiency.

There are always good defenders in Dutch football, there are always good midfielders, there are always those beautiful moments that can be cut into documentaries. But in the last few games of the World Cup, there were not enough beautiful rounds. You've got to have someone turn decades of "almosts" into "this one" with that 78th-minute shot.

Now in the Netherlands, I haven't fully believed that that person has appeared.

2026 Dutch list (organized by position)

Note: The following is the current team organized as of April 2026 based on official competitions and regular national team recruitment in the past two years. The final 26 people are subject to official registration.

• Goalkeepers: Bart Verbruggen, Mark Flecken, Justin Bylow
• Defenders: Virgil van Dijk, Matthijs de Ligt, Stefan de Vrij, Nathan Ake, Mickey van de Ven, Dumfries, Jeremy Frimpong, Ian Matheson
• Midfielder: Frenkie de Jong, Tijani Reinders, Ryan Hrafenberch, Joey Fellman, Yeldi Schouten, Ten Kupmenas, Harvey Simons
• Forwards: Cody Gakpo, Memphis Depay, Doniel Mullen, Brian Brobey, Joshua Zirkzee, Wouter Verhorst, Noah Long

If you also like to watch the World Cup from the perspective of characters and positions, you can play a game here: https://wordlecup.today/en/football/