Cody Gakpo and Brian Brobbey both scored twice as the rampant Netherlands thrashed Sweden 5-1 in a World Cup warning on Saturday in Houston. The big win in front of nearly 69,000 put the delighted Dutch on the cusp of the knockout rounds and gave them liftoff after being held by Japan. Ronald Koeman’s side […]
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Japan fight back in 2-2 Dutch thriller at World Cup
Japan scored an 88th-minute equalizer as they twice fought back to rescue a 2-2 draw with the Netherlands in front of 69,285 in Texas on Sunday to open their World Cup campaigns. A match that had bubbled away in the first period sparked into life in the second half. Netherlands skipper Virgil van Dijk scored […]
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Virgil van Dijk interview: ‘This World Cup is special’
Fitness will be the issue of this World Cup. It is for Dutch captain Virgil van Dijk. At the age of 34, van Dijk played 70 games in 2025-26 for Liverpool and the Netherlands, while 55 seems to be the maximum a player can deal with. (Of the USMNT starters against Paraguay, Chris Richards has played the most […]
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Fans hope ‘Orange Street’ guides Dutch to World Cup victory
Danny van Dijk thinks that this time turning his street in The Hague completely orange is going to work, as the Netherlands again target a long-awaited first World Cup title. For 26 years, whenever the Dutch play in a major football championship, Van Dijk and other residents have turned Marktweg into “Orange Street”. He stands […]
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Algeria sucker-punch Netherlands in World Cup warm up
Algeria stunned the Netherlands 1–0 in Rotterdam on Wednesday evening in a World Cup warm-up match, just a week before the 2026 tournament kicks off in North America. Against the run of play a fabulous 86th minute goal from Hadj Moussa, a curling left-footed whip into the top corner, secured victory for the Algerians in […]
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Depay in Netherlands World Cup squad, Frimpong misses out
Netherlands coach Ronald Koeman has included Corinthians forward Memphis Depay in his World Cup squad announced on Wednesday, but Liverpool wing-back Jeremie Frimpong misses out. Depay, who is the Netherlands’ all-time top goalscorer with 55 goals, is short of match-fitness having only recently returned from a two-month injury-enforced absence. The 32-year-old played 34 minutes on […]
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Netherlands under the radar as they chase long-awaited World Cup crown
Three-time runners-up the Netherlands head into another World Cup with reasons to be hopeful of a long-awaited first global title, but not among the favourites to lift the trophy. Coach Ronald Koeman returns to the United States, where he captained the Dutch to the 1994 World Cup quarter-finals, with a well-balanced squad despite some injury […]
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Dick Advocaat returns as Curacao coach for World Cup
Veteran Dutch coach Dick Advocaat, who led Curacao to World Cup qualification, will return as coach for the tournament after his successor Fred Rutten resigned. “Advocaat is returning,” the president of the Curacao Football Federation (FFK), Gilbert Martina, told AFP in a phone message. Advocaat, 78, was in charge when the Caribbean island off the […]
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Simons out of World Cup and Spurs relegation fight
Tottenham confirmed on Monday that “heartbroken” Xavi Simons had ruptured an anterior cruciate ligament, forcing him out of the club’s relegation scrap and the World Cup. The 23-year-old Dutch midfielder clutched his right knee and was stretchered off in distress in the second half of Tottenham’s crucial 1-0 win at already relegated Wolves on Saturday. […]
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Ricardo Pepi’s brace gives him career-high goal total
Ricardo Pepi scored twice on headers in champion PSV’s 6-1 win over PEC Zwolle to give him a career-high 13 Eredivisie goals this season. The 23-year-old American leads the Eredivisie with an average of 1.00 goals per 90 minutes. Wisconsin product Esmir Bajraktarević, who plays for World Cup finalist Bosnia & Herzegovina, also had a brace. Pepi […]