The Netherlands' Luxurious Midfield Will Be Provisioned for North America

AMSTERDAM, TUESDAY – Ronald Koeman's decision to reincarnate the 4-3-3 tactic in the Dutch national team has resulted in a ticket to the 2026 World Cup. The "Oranje" squad has moved past the crisis of traditional center forwards, thanks to a plethora of versatile midfielders skilled at scoring goals against opponents.

The Netherlands secured their participation in the 12th World Cup by defeating Lithuania 4-0 in the final match of Group G for the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, on Tuesday (18/11/2025) WIB, at the Johan Cruyff Arena in Amsterdam. Virgil van Dijk and his teammates maintained their top position by accumulating 20 points from eight matches.

They are three points ahead of second-placed Poland and still have a chance to qualify for the 2026 World Cup via the playoffs. Poland secured a dramatic 3-2 victory away to Malta.

Tickets to North America 2026 were secured from the 16th minute when Indonesian descent midfielder, Tijjani Reijnders, opened the scoring in the 16th minute. After halftime, the Oranje added three more goals.

Cody Gakpo scored a goal from the penalty spot in the 58th minute. Subsequently, Xavi Simons (60') and Donyell Malen (62') dashed Lithuania's hopes of causing an upset in Amsterdam.

The Netherlands has joined England, France, Croatia, Portugal, Norway, and Germany, who have already secured their spots as European representatives on the world stage for the 23rd edition. For the Netherlands' record in the qualifying phase, the event leading up to the 2026 World Cup marks their seventh opportunity to advance to the main stage without suffering a defeat.

The Oranje were once very formidable in the qualification rounds for three consecutive periods, namely 2006, 2010, and 2014, when they had a golden generation, including Arjen Robben, Robin van Persie, and Mark van Bommel. In those three qualification editions, they were also unbeaten.

An unbeaten record in the qualifying round is an important asset for the morale and psychology of the Dutch squad. This is because, despite never achieving positive results in the qualifiers, they have at least managed to reach the round of 16, meaning they always advance past the group stage.

This achievement was realized in the 1974 and 1978 editions when they managed to reach the final match. Subsequently, they advanced to the round of 16 in Italy 1990 and Germany 2006. In South Africa 2010, they again reached the final, and then brought home a bronze medal in Brazil 2014.

Frenkie De Jong, the Dutch midfielder, is grateful to have contributed to achieving the goal of qualifying for the World Cup. According to him, breaking into the World Cup is not an easy task. The Netherlands has previously experienced failures in the qualification rounds in 1986, 2002, and 2018.

"We should appreciate this achievement. We've qualified. Now the real work begins to prepare for the biggest tournament, and we'll try to go into the World Cup in the best possible condition," De Jong told NOS, as reported by De Telegraaf.

Eight matches in the 2026 World Cup qualifying round showcase the blueprint of the style of play that the Netherlands aims to implement under Koeman in North America next year. Koeman has not retained the 3-4-3 formation that the Netherlands relied on with Louis van Gaal during Qatar 2022.

The traditional 4-3-3 formation was once again presented by Koeman during his second term managing the Netherlands. This tactic is intended to provide Koeman with the freedom to take advantage of the abundance of great midfielders currently available to the Oranje.

Reijnders plays a more active role in supporting Memphis Depay, who serves as the sole striker. Reijnders' active movement in the penalty area represents the Netherlands' effort to reduce reliance on Depay as the primary source of goals.

Depay was indeed able to score eight goals in the lead-up to the 2026 World Cup, but assigning the goal-scoring task to the player from the Brazilian club, Corinthians, seems wasteful considering his capabilities. The 31-year-old forward prefers to move freely in the final third of the opponent's defense.

As Depay wandered around, Reijnders filled in the opposition penalty area. That's what happened in the first goal.

The Manchester City player was the only Dutch player in the penalty area of Lithuania, prompting De Jong to immediately provide a through pass to assist Reijnders. In total, Reijnders contributed two goals to help him navigate his debut tournament at the World Cup.

In addition, Koeman is also trying to maximize the potential of Xavi Simons, who is more effective when operating from the central sector rather than struggling on the wing. Similar to Reijnders, Simons also scored two goals in the pre-2026 World Cup.

De Jong is difficult to replace in the role of number six, which means Ryan Gravenberch is only included in Koeman's rotation system. On the other hand, Koeman still has a stock of talented midfielders from the Dutch League.

They are Jerdy Schouten (PSV Eindhoven), Luciano Valente (Feyenoord), Sem Steijn (Feyenoord), and Kenneth Taylor (Ajax Amsterdam), who could be considered to strengthen the options from the second line in the 2026 World Cup.

Koeman specifically gave Valente his debut in the match against Lithuania. Valente replaced Simons in the 78th minute. Koeman has already awarded first caps to 32 players in his two spells in charge of the Dutch national team since March 2018.

Valente, a 22-year-old midfielder, is proud to have made his debut in front of his family. According to him, his first appearance with Oranje provided a very emotional experience.

"I'm very proud to be living a childhood dream come true. I've always watched them (my national team teammates) on TV because they were my role models, and suddenly I'm on the pitch with them," Valente said, as reported by ESPN Netherlands.

In the 2026 World Cup, the main challenge for the Netherlands will only arise in the knockout phase. This is because they will enter as a seeded team, or pot one, in the draw for the group stage, which will take place on December 5, at the Kennedy Center, Washington DC, United States.