Ronald Koeman has named his final 26-man Netherlands squad for the 2026 summer World Cup, with Virgil van Dijk headlining.

Netherlands, who are yet to win the World Cup despite finishing runner-up on three occasions, have been placed in Group F for this summer’s tournament.

They will open up their campaign on June 14 when they face Japan at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. They will face Sweden four days later in Houston before concluding their group stage with a clash against Tunisia in Kansas City.

Oranje will fancy their chances of becoming world champions for the first time this summer and, when you look at their squad, they certainly have a chance.

Goalkeepers

Koeman has chosen three goalkeepers with Premier League experience. Mark Flekken was Brentford’s starting goalkeeper for two seasons before departing for Bayer Leverkusen this summer.

He has been named in the squad alongside Robin Roefs, who enjoyed a fine debut season in England’s top tier with Sunderland, and Brighton and Hove Albion’s Bart Verbruggen. The latter has already picked up 27 caps for his country and is expected to be their starter this summer.

Defenders

Netherlands’ strength is arguably their defence. Van Dijk is regarded as one of the best centre-backs in Premier League history and will be determined to lead his country to success. It will likely be his last attempt at World Cup glory.

Man City defender Nathan Ake features in the squad, as does Arsenal’s Jurrien Timber, Tottenham’s Micky van de Ven and Brighton & Hove Albion duo Jan Paul van Hecke and Mats Wieffer.

Denzel Dumfries is a menace going forward and features, while there’s also a spot for Chelsea’s talented youngster Jorrel Hato.

There’s no place for Manchester United’s Matthijs de Ligt. The 26-year-old, who has been capped 52 times by his country, has not played since November due to a back injury. Liverpool’s Jeremie Frimpong also misses out.

Midfielders

Frenkie De Jong was pivotal in Barcelona’s La Liga triumph this season. He is expected to start in the middle of midfield for the Netherlands this summer, alongside Man City’s Tijjani Reijnders and Liverpool’s Ryan Gravenberch.

Two midfielders from Serie A feature in Oranje’s squad: Juventus’ Teun Koopmeiners and Atalanta’s Marten De Roon. There’s also a place for Quinten Timber, twin brother of Jurrien, and PSV star Guus Til.

Xavi Simons misses out after rupturing his ACL against Wolves in late April.

Forwards

While Netherlands are stacked in defence and midfield, they don’t quite have the same strength of depth going forward. Still, they have enough attacking quality to fire them to glory this summer.

Netherlands’ all-time top goal scorer, Memphis Depay, has been given a place in the squad. The 32-year-old, who now plays in Brazil with Corinthians, has hit the back of the net 55 times for his country.

Gakpo will no doubt start for his side this summer, if fully fit. He has an impressive strike record of 19 goals in 48 international games.

There’s also a place in the squad for Sunderland’s Brian Brobbey, West Ham’s Crysencio Summerville, Bournemouth’s Justin Kluivert, Ajax’s Wout Weghorst, Roma’s Donyell Malen and Galatasaray’s Noa Lang.

Manchester United are closing in on their first signing of the summer transfer window, GIVEMESPORT understands.

United have been chasing two central midfielders before the summer window has even opened officially, and they may get one over the line before the 2026 World Cup kicks off in two weeks’ time.

With Casemiro departing the club following the end of his contract and United open to offers for Manuel Ugarte, two new signings are required in the middle of the park as newly appointed permanent manager Michael Carrick gets to work on improving his squad for European football next season.

Ederson set to be Carrick’s first summer signing

Nottingham Forest star Elliot Anderson has always been the number one priority signing and still make complete a move to Old Trafford, but even if they were to sign him, Carrick would be looking for another midfielder to bring in too.

And it looks like one they have settled on is Atalanta’s Ederson, after a breakthrough in talks this week.

There has been plenty of speculation about his future in recent weeks, with the 26-year-old left out of the Italian club’s final starting lineup of the season against Fiorentina.

Manager Raffaele Palladino said: “It was a choice agreed with the player because there is something happening in the transfer market. The fact that a player like him is being followed by such an important club should be a source of pride.”

Talks have been taking place between the two clubs for some time now and a fee is “close” to being agreed, according to GMS senior football correspondent Ben Jacobs.

He said: “Manchester United are close to agreeing a deal for Ederson. The player has already agreed a five-year deal and if all goes to plan that could be finalised before the World Cup.

Ederson will be free to join up with his new Manchester United teammates quickly

“It’s not done yet, but the fee that they’ve agreed on, including bonuses, is under €45million, so Manchester United have got it a little bit cheaper than Atalanta were hoping for and that’s because he’s only got one year left on his contract.”

The fee of less than €45million means United will be paying just under £39million in total to sign the ‘world-class’ 26-year-old Brazilian. Ederson was not named in Carlo Ancelotti’s squad for the 2026 World Cup, but United would be keen to tie up a deal before the chaos of the tournament unfolds and secure their first signing under Michael Carrick.

Details have emerged of WWE‘s bizarre plan to relaunch the infamous New World Order faction, and it was so outlandish that even founding member Kevin Nash was forced to take to social media to address it.

The COVID-19 pandemic gave WWE fans the Boneyard Match and a frightful fourth wall-breaking journey into the Firefly Fun House. But it also nearly gave them an equally scary recreation of the iconic nWo.

Former WWE writer Chris Dunn recently appeared on the Public Enemies podcast to discuss his tenure at the company. His interview included a tale from the creative wilderness of the COVID years.

One pitch that stood out like a sore thumb was the revival of the nWo, which was to be spearheaded by a number of the company’s international Superstars.

WWE’s Controversial Plans to Relaunch the nWo Revealed

WWE

Alongside Hulk Hogan and Scott Hall, Nash founded the cult faction in 1996, dominating WCW for a number of years. The faction would eventually expand considerably in numbers, with the likes of “Macho Man” Randy Savage and The Giant [The Big Show] bolstering the ranks.

Following a split into several subgroups at the end of the 1990s, the group fizzled out prior to WWE’s acquirement of the promotion in 2001. The original trio briefly reunited in WWE in 2002.

Dunn revealed that there was an initial plan to revive the New World Order with Sheamus, Shinsuke Nakamura, Cesaro aka Claudio Castagnoli, and Lars Sullivan. The faction was one of many outrageous pitches made during the pandemic era, which was a notoriously tough period for the company.

Credit: WWE

With the greatest of respect to Sheamus, Nakamura and Cesaro, they hardly possess the generational star power of Hogan, Hall and Nash. Lars Sullivan’s WWE main roster run, meanwhile, was notoriously underwhelming. He retired from professional wrestling altogether in late 2021.

However, as Dunn revealed, the storyline was being seriously considered and very nearly came to fruition. The company had even gone as far as to recruit an nWo original for the new group’s inception. “So it was really close to happening. I forget which legendary nWo member was supposed to fly to Orlando to introduce this new nWo. It wasn’t X-Pac,” revealed Dunn. “Essentially, they landed, and they didn’t pass the COVID test, so they couldn’t do it.”

Kevin Nash Reacts to WWE’s Scrapped nWo Plans

Following on from the podcast revelation, Nash delivered his two cents on the proposed revival. Posting on X, Nash wrote: “Never heard anything about it. Scott and @TheRealXPac and myself were out almost every weekend together. So it definitely wasn’t one of us.”

The “legendary nWo member” could feasibly have been Hulk Hogan, although the iconic Superstar never mentioned the idea prior to his untimely passing last year.

Referring to WWE’s initial attempt to relaunch the faction with himself, Hogan and Hall in 2002, Nash joked:

Given the seismic impact that the nWo had on professional wrestling, it is unlikely that WWE’s awkward reboot would have lived up to original legacy. That it didn’t happen is likely a blessing for all concerned.