Netherlands Euro 2024 Squad: Who will Ronald Koeman take to Germany to conquer the championship for the second time?

The Netherlands team suffered a defeat in the round of 16 three years ago, but this time they have enough motivation to go further. The Netherlands may not be among the candidates for the Euro 2024 championship, but they should be considered as dark horses under Ronald Koeman, who led them to second place in the qualifying group after France. Koeman inherited a talented squad from Louis van Gaal after their impressive achievement of reaching the quarter-finals of the 2022 World Cup, and will confidently make a bigger impact in Germany this summer.

Oranje has certainly come a long way since their shocking defeat in the round of 16 against the Czech Republic at the most recent European Championships, with the perfect combination of youth and experience helping them stabilize as they strive to win this tournament since 1988.

Another encounter with France awaits in Group D, as the Netherlands also face a tough clash with Austria, but Koeman’s team will not fear anyone with the quality they possess across the pitch.

And Koeman has shown his hand in the tournament when assembling a strong 25-man squad…

Goalkeepers

Brighton’s goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen currently holds the Netherlands’ number 1 jersey but his position is not secure. Verbruggen only had a chance with Koeman last year when Mark Flekken was injured, and the Brentford shot-stopper could still make a shout to take his place.

Feyenoord’s Justin Bijlow completes the three-man setup despite struggling with injury during the 2023-24 campaign.

3 goalkeepers include: Justin Bijlow (Feyenoord), Mark Flekken (Brentford), Bart Verbruggen (Brighton)

Defenders

Led by Virgil van Dijk, the Netherlands is fortunate to possess a quality defense and Nathan Ake could potentially partner with the Liverpool superstar following another impressive season at Manchester City.

Inter’s Denzel Dumfries and Daley Blind, who are enjoying the twilight of their careers at newly promoted La Liga side Girona, also played a key role in Oranje’s Euro qualifying campaign and will have crucial roles to play in Germany.

However, competition for starting slots will be fierce, with Bayer Leverkusen’s Jeremie Frimpong and Tottenham’s summer signing Micky van de Ven also making strong statements with their club form. However, Chelsea loanee Ian Maatsen still missed out on the final squad, despite helping Borussia Dortmund reach the Champions League final.

However, Arsenal’s Jurrien Timber is not in the squad. It looks like he could have played some minutes after tearing his ACL at the start of the 2023-24 Premier League season, but Koeman has decided to leave the versatile defender at home.

9 defenders include: Nathan Ake (Manchester City), Daley Blind (Girona), Matthijs de Ligt (Bayern Munich), Stefan de Vrij (Inter), Denzel Dumfries (Inter), Jeremie Frimpong (Bayer Leverkusen), Lutsharel Geertruida (Feyenoord), Micky van de Ven (Tottenham), Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)

Midfielders

Frenkie de Jong missed the end of the season for Barcelona due to an ankle issue. However, Koeman has decided that this midfielder will recover in time to dictate the pace in the midfield for the Netherlands at the Euros. Meanwhile, Jerdy Schouten, considered the right-hand man of the Barcelona playmaker, was one of the standout performers for PSV throughout their run leading the direct qualifying round of the Eredivisie and Champions League.

Atalanta’s lucky charm, Teun Koopmeiners could also occupy the holding midfielder role, while Quinten Timber yet to be recruited showed his versatility at Feyenoord and retained his place at the Euros after being named in Koeman’s squad for the March friendlies against Scotland and Germany.

Interestingly, Georginio Wijnaldum has also been cut, despite the fact that he is currently playing in Saudi Arabia, and the experience of the former Liverpool midfielder could be very useful if Oranje reach the later stages of the tournament. Ryan Gravenberch makes up an interesting midfield line-up for the Dutch.

6 midfielders include: Frenkie de Jong (Barcelona), Ryan Gravenberch (Liverpool), Teun Koopmeiners (Atalanta), Tijjani Reijnders (AC Milan), Jerdy Schouten (PSV), Georginio Wijnaldum (Al-Ettifaq)

Forwards

Koeman is known for his pragmatic style of play and tends to favor a single striker, with Burnley loanee Wout Weghorst likely to take up that role despite an underwhelming season at Hoffenheim.

Liverpool’s Cody Gakpo could potentially sit just behind Weghorst along with Paris Saint-Germain star Xavi Simons, who had an outstanding individual season on loan at RB Leipzig.

Memphis Depay also still makes the list despite an unstable year with Atletico Madrid, and Steven Bergwijn also made the list despite a struggling season with Ajax this year.

8 forwards include: Steven Bergwijn (Ajax), Brian Brobbey (Ajax), Memphis Depay (Atletico Madrid), Cody Gakpo (Liverpool), Donyell Malen (Borussia Dortmund), Xavi Simons (RB Leipzig), Wout Weghorst (Hoffenheim)

Expected line-up with scheme (3-4-2-1)

Koeman is very likely to use three defenders, and Stefan de Vrij is likely to win a starting spot over Van de Ven and Matthijs de Ligt purely based on experience, with Van Dijk and Ake almost certain to start.

Flying Inter’s wing-back Dumfries had a standout performance at the 2022 World Cup, and his runs behind will be crucial again, while De Jong will hold everything together in the middle as Koeman relies on Simons and Gakpo to gain the upper hand in the third final.

Weghorst will continue to be the Netherlands’ target, with his height and physicality allowing Oranje to play more direct and make the most of their considerable depth from wide positions.

Expected Netherlands line-up (3-4-2-1): Verbruggen; De Vrij, Van Dijk, Ake; Dumfries, Schouten, De Jong, Blind; Simons, Gakpo; Weghorst.

⚽️ UEFA Euro 1960 to 2021 with 16 tournaments and 10 national champions

⏩ Germany won the Euro 3 times (1972 – 1980 – 1996)

⏩ Spain won the Euro 3 times (1964 – 2008 – 2012)

⏩ France won the Euro 2 times (1984 – 2000)

⏩ Italy won the Euro 2 times (1968 – 2020)

⏩ Soviet Union won the Euro once in 1960

⏩ Czechoslovakia won the Euro once in 1976

⏩ Netherlands won the Euro once in 1988

⏩ Denmark won the Euro once in 1992

⏩ Greece won the Euro once in 2004

⏩ Portugal won the Euro once in 2016

With the participation of the strongest European teams according to the FIFA ranking on February 15, 2024 such as France (2nd) – England (3rd) – Belgium (4th) – Netherlands (6th) – Portugal (7th) – Spain (8th) – Italy (9th) – Croatia (10th) and bright stars like Cristiano Ronaldo, Kylian Mbappé, Harry Kane, Romelu Lukaku to promising young talents, Euro 2024 promises to deliver top-level and dramatic matches.

EURO 2024 will take place in Germany from June 14 to July 14, 2024 in 10 cities in Germany with 24 participating teams. The teams are divided into 6 groups to select the first and second teams in each group, and the 4 third-placed teams with the best performance to get a ticket to the knock-out round. The opening match is scheduled for June 14 between host Germany and Scotland.

⚽️ Detailed EURO 2024 match groups:

⚽️ Group A: Germany, Scotland, Hungary, Switzerland

⚽️ Group B: Spain, Croatia, Italy, Albania

⚽️ Group C: England, Denmark, Serbia, Slovenia

⚽️ Group D: Poland, France, Netherlands, Austria

⚽️ Group E: Slovakia, Romania, Belgium, Ukraine

⚽️ Group F: Portugal, Turkey, Czech Republic, Georgia