It goes against everything sport stands for: losing on purpose. But if the Dutch national team wants to qualify for the 2026 World Cup in Canada, Mexico and the United States via the easy route, it would be advisable to lose the Nations League quarterfinals against Spain on March 20, 2025 in Rotterdam and March 23, 2025 in Spain. Crazy right?
What’s the case. In the draw for World Cup qualification, Oranje were paired with Poland, Finland, Lithuania and Malta in the event of Nations League elimination by Spain in March 2025.
Whereas in the event of reaching the Nations League Final Four in March at the expense of the Spaniards, countries of better caliber must be sidelined: Turkey, Georgia and Bulgaria.
This is dictated by UEFA, which is keen to give more weight to the Nations League and therefore makes the results in it count for World Cup 2026 qualification.
Oranje’s start of the qualification series for Canada, Mexico and the United States also depends on the result against the European champion.
If they win, qualification begins in September 2025 and involves six matches, while if they lose, Koeman’s team must complete eight qualifying matches starting in June 2025.
What remains is that only the winners of the 12 groups qualify directly for the 2026 World Cup. The runners-up, together with four still unseeded teams from the Nations League, will compete for the last four European tickets to the 2026 world finals.
World Cup qualification schedule not yet known
The playing schedule for the 2026 World Cup qualifying tournament will be announced later. The World Cup itself will be played for the first time in three countries with 48 participants.
The 104 duels will take place from June 11 to July 19, 2026. Canada has two playing cities and 13 World Cup matches, Mexico three and 13 World Cup matches and the United States 11 and 78 World Cup matches.
The opening match will take place at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City and the final will be played in New York/New Jersey. The first match of the day is at 7 p.m. Dutch time while the last match of the day is scheduled at 9 a.m. ET.
Koeman too proud to lose to Spain
By the way, it will be beyond the honor of Ronald Koeman and the internationals to lose to Spain in order to achieve a better starting position for World Cup qualification.
Given the opponents, the Orange should be able to qualify for the World Cup without any problems anyway. Nevertheless, in a top sports organization like UEFA, it remains particularly strange that you can take sporting advantage of losses.
Fifa World Ranking
Also based on the FIFA world rankings, the winner’s pool seems considerably stronger. In it you will find the numbers 28, 68 and 82. In the other pool it is numbers 35, 69, 142 and 169.
And there is not much room for error for the Dutch: only the number one of a pool qualifies directly for the tournament in the United States, Canada and Mexico. And so an easier route toward the World Cup is nice.
it does not matter,Koeman is the coach,if we qualify,we can go and play in USA..thats it..The moment we face a top team koeman will loose it..i dont care which group we are in..koeman is a serial looser,tactically poor coach,failed every where as coach.
its sad state of affairs that wonderful generation of Frenkie,virgil,gravenberch,koopmeiners,Gakpo,Frimpong,Timber bros,reinders,Lang ,Hato,Ake,De ligt getting sucked at big time..We have a wonderful team with a clown coach..
———Gakpo———Brobbey———–
————–Simons———–
—–Reinders———-Gravenberch—
————–Frenkie—————-
Hato—Virgil—-De ligt—-Timber
———–Verbruggen——————
on bench
——Lang—–Weghorst——-Summerville—-
———Quinten——–Koopmeiners———-
————-schouten——————-
Ake——-Van de ven—Van hecke—-Dumfries
————–Flekken————————
22+4=26
Olij
Weiffer
Zirksee
Frimpong
I don’t think anybody would have expected this but Bakker on the Right wing looks interesting. he is been deployed on the RW by lille coach Bruno Génésio. Watched marseille and Lille and and he was good impact coming on HT. Dribbling is not there yet but his positioning, drifting in the middle (wing / striker) and particularly his crosses looks top notch. Still a long way to go but he is looking promising and his workrate is another thing that stands out roving all over the park. This will be interesting imo and for surely he is making it count in the books of the coaches.
Gakpo
simons- zirlzee- lang
reijnders/frenkie -Gravenberch
van der ven-ake- van dijk-timber
verbruggen
3-1-3-2-1
a loss to Spain looks to be easy route. Hope koeman doesn’t use this as a escape route for failing to win
Koeman is a puSS@##y ,he will prefer loosing route..while Spain might win nations league and world cup again..i am done with koeman ..
Jurien Timber,Gravenberch are destroying the EPL clubs..Gakpo is also doing well,not forgetting Van de ven,Virgil,Ake,De ligt..they also doing well ..Also there is Verbruggen and wieffer at brighton and flekken at brentford..happy to see all doing well…Except Summerville..What a team we have with a clown coach…
——-Gakpo——-Brobbey————
————koopmeiners—————
—Reinders————-Gravenberch
————Frnekie——————
Hato–Van de ven-Virgil—-Timber
————Verbruggen——————-
its an astonishing team,,,
on Bench its
—-Lang———Weghorst——-
——–Simons————
Quinten———-Weiffer
——–Schouten—————
Ake—De ligt–Van hecke–Dumfries
———–Flekken——————-not bad options
with
Frimpong
Summerville
OLij
For 25 man squad
3 changes to your first team:
– Aké much better then Hato
– Dumfries better then Timber
– Weghorst (as we speak today) better then Brobbey
Missing de Vrij, he would be potential Top11 player as well for me….
I would bring Malen as well as he can be our number 9 as well and on the right side…
@Johan Ake is class player,but prefer more agile and fast Hato..that will reduce the amount of fouls at the dback when we face a world class opponent.
Dumfries is inferior to Timber at every aspect of game..
Weghorst is more effective when come in sub..he is a fighter,we need fighters at the end..
Devrij has lost little pace..Great class player,time for younger blood..
Malen has given enough chances,but what has he done at NT so far??
Unfortunately all the players you have mentioned have already played for NT and its well known what to expect and where to expect. It won’t change unless you change the equation
Playing Ake at LB, dumfries on right, the usually tactical stuff,it ain’t gonna happen. You have to go as tacking fullbacks like other big teams to lock horns together. Ake is no cucurella, dimarco, hernandez, digne esque. Defense can win you games provide you are good on offensive front as well as to they can compensate upfront. This is the dilemma for NT.
Attacking front are good vs average teams and toothless vs big.
Zirkzee
Simons-koopmeiners
Maatsen – frenkie-gravenberch-frimpong
Ake-Van dijk-De ligt
Verbruggen
I’m also keeping fingers crossed ihattaren will get back into form before WC
Let’s also see how noslin’s form goes at lazio.
What about him upfront. He certainly is showing good killer instinct
Zirkzee can be promissing but far from base material. He needs to show it every week. Ihataren is a sad joke, the guy doesn´t have it, even at RKC no base player. He will never return on his PSV level as he prefers MacDonalds over a professional career.
Simons so far also didn´t show it at NT, he needs to start delivering as well…
https://www.facebook.com/share/v/VynoSEhN81gGoNn4/
Simon is not a 10 and it’s very clear and that’s why he thrives at leipziq playing from the wings.
Koeman is mediocre trying to play makeshift players to suit his tactic.
To suit his tactical nonsense in other words
You think about it. In 2018 he had babel, promes, Depay, gakpo and bergwijn upfront. This is what you need
Merry Christmas everyone. Since the end of the year is coming up, I think it will be fun to post half of season rating for our players. This is solely based on my opinion on their campaign so far.
GKs:
Verbruggen: A-. Excellent campaign, he seems to be up his level. His ball distribution is very good and reflexes is top notch. He needs to work a bit more to not let occasional easy goal.
Flekken: B+. Good campaign so far. He is starting for Brentford and made nice saves.
Bizot: B+. Starting for Brest and doing well in CL.
Defenders:
VVD: A. Captain of the top EPL team. He has regained his form and is dominating against top strikers weeks after weeks. He is our strongest defender this season.
De Ligt: C+. He joined the wrong team. MU is a career graveyard. While his performance is not bad YET, he should get out before it is too late.
Timber: A-. Starting for Arsenal. Played very well in multiple positions (LB, RB and CB). It is a nice recovery from a long injury. He needs to maintain his fitness.
Van de Ven: C. He had very nice performance at Spurs before his injury. He got some amazing assists using his speed. Now he is out for a long time. He needs to be careful with how he use his speed. In the long run, he will suffer heavily if he does not change his play style.
Frimpong: B+. He has a drop in performance compared to last season. That is not to say he is bad. It was just that he is on another level last season.
Dumfries: A-. He is regaining his starting place at Inter. He looks strong and fit now compared to last season.
Ake: D. He was out for most of the first half. He is occasionally playing for City now but they are in such a bad form right now. It is important that he regains his fitness slowly and not being rushed back to action.
Maatsen: C-. He does not play much and when he did, it is not very convincing. He will need to adjust to the new team or need a transfer.
Others
Lang – A +. If tomorrow was World Cup. He would be my starter on that LW.
Reijnders – B+. Has become an instrumental player for Milan as he plays weak in weak out
Gravenberch – A. purely based on Liverpool form only
Gakpo- B+. Good form but one trick pony
Noslin – B. new kid on the block. Exciting future ahead. Will he be the man upfront at WC
Kluivert- B improving at Bournemouth
Midfielders:
_ FDJ: C-. He was injured and then coming back, he found that he is not needed. Barca will try to force him out before his final year. But I don’t think any other club want to pay this much for him. It is disappointed though, he was a rising star a few years ago but never reach his true potential due to joining the wrong team.
_ Gravenberch: A. What a transformation: from someone who might be shipped out after not making enough minutes to being one of the best DM in EPL. His ability to intercept, passing and dribble in close space is critical to Liverpool’s success. That’s why he is starting that many games for them. Hope that Slot will buy a back up for him in the second half of the season as he does not get much rotation like other teammates.
_ Reijnders: A+. 7 goals and 2 assists. He is the top midfielder in Series A now. He has everything for a midfield, shooting, passing, dribbling.
_ Mats Wieffer: C-. He is injured and rarely play when he is available. It might take time for him to adjust to a new league.
_ Schouten: C+. He was playing well before getting injured.
_ Koop: B-. He was injured and then get back into starting place for Juve. But his form is not matching the price they paid for it.
_ Kluivert: A. He is a key member of Bournemouth’s campaign. He is now playing as a number 10 instead of a winger. His passing, dribbling and link up play allow Bournemouth to play a smooth game. This position might fit him better as he does not have the speed and tricks required for a EPL winger.
_ Van de Beek: B. Found back his form at La Liga. He might get a recall if he keep up his form.
Forwards:
_ Gakpo: A-. Starting the season on the bench due to Diaz’s form but have fought and earned back his place as LW. Diaz is now deployed as CF and they switch positions often. He found his scoring boot as well. He is our top forward at the moment.
_ Malen: C. Never settle into Dortmund team. He is way inconsistent to be relied upon at top level. Sometime he is amazing, sometime he just disappear. Perhaps his best role is impact sub. He is seeking a move away from Dortmund.
_ Zirkzee: D. What a disaster move for him. MU is not a good club to join at the moment. But the move also shows several areas that he is lacking. He often run to receive the ball instead of getting into scoring position. This is very hard to find a suitable formation for him as he want to play striker but lacking striker instinct. Also his speed and strength is not up to EPL standard. Need to seek a move away and develop those skills under a coach that understand him.
_ Brobbey: F. 1 goal in 15 matches in Eredivisie. This is a major setback for his career. Given that his form has go up and down several time, it seems that he will never reach EPL/LaLiga/Bundesliga level.
_ Depay: A-. Well we thought that he is done. But his Brazil adventure is going well. Given other strikers are bad right now, he will get a recall soon.
_ Weghorst: C+. Nothing spectacular about him but still better than Zirkzee and Brobbey right now.
_ Dallinga: D-. Another striker struggles with new league.
_ Danjuma: D. What a disappointment. He was one of the best wingers in CL a few years ago. Now it looks like he is fading away.
_ Lang: B. He was injured. After that, he is playing well.
It is great that you are joining the fun ratings 🙂 I have some different opinions about those players. Posted them below.
Happy new year to all…i really dont know what to say since koeman is the coach of the NT.This guy is not going to beat a top with his negative approach..
Happy new year, that 2025 may be a year full of health and peace for all of us all around the world.
Happy New Year guys and thanks Johan for doing an awesome job here. Great to see! I’ve never been a big Koeman as coach fan and I don’t see Oranje develop under him. He sees his job as taking the best players with a Dutch passport and putting them in a system Koeman likes and then probably tells them to “go for it” and “enjoy yourself” or something.
He doesn’t make the team better. Maybe it’s not easy for an NT manager but you’d expect him to find a way to utilise all the quality we have and play some good football.
Spain is an interesting opponent, because they manage to do this. In the past people always said: it’s easier for a SPain manager due to the fact only two teams feed into the NT there ( Barca and Madrid, for people who live under a rock). Today, the Spanish players come to the NT from everywhere: England, Germany, Italy, Sociedad, Girona, Atleti, etc etc. Still, they play scintillating stuff.
If you have Gakpo, Brobbey, Lang, Reijnders, Gravenberch, Schouten, Kluivert, Timber, Frenkie, etc etc you expect a bit more, right? I still think our Euros tournament was cause for firing Koeman….
the problem for the dutch is the balance and are forced to go 4-3-3/3-4-3 and even that is also tatical with one offensive wing back and another defensive ake/ dumfries and very recently Timber on left. the midfield is kind of ok now with emergence of gravenberch but it remains to be seen if he can replicate the same liverpool form in NT or its just a liverpool thing around better players. consistency will be key (NT) and like I always say not just vs some teams buts bigs teams as well.
players that need more playing , lang, kluivert, frimpong,gravenberch, maatsen, zirkzee. atmost. then only the dutch can be in driving seat.
also there are some good dutch players in the championship. manhoef, hamer, piroe,goudmijn, van ewijk.chong. good transfers or promotion to epl those in contention could bring them into contention.
been follow ihattaren also. started with flashes but now looks to be in full flight. he has only one year contract and plus Waaljik is last in the standings. he defintely will be on the move next summer. a ggod transfer and he shud be in contention for wc qualifers.
another player worth mentioning is mexx meedrink of AZ. some young talents coming up in there