It’s official since Monday evening: the Netherlands are qualified for the 2026 World Cup. Large winners over Lithuania (4-0), thanks to goals from Tijani Reijnders (16e), Cody Gakpo on penalty (58e), Xavi Simons (60e) and Donyell Malen (62e), the Dutch locked first place in Group G by three lengths over Poland, who dominated Malta (3-0) and will therefore compete in the play-offs in March.
The deserved reward for a controlled campaign from the Oranje, who finished these qualifiers undefeated with six wins and two draws. Enough to make them the favorites for the next North American World Cup, from June 11 to July 19 in the United States, Mexico and Canada? In any case, this is what their coach Ronald Koeman thinks, interviewed after the success against the Lithuanians.
“We have fulfilled our dutyhe declared, in comments relayed by RMC Sport. We have the best team in this group. We have proven it. But there are still some points to improve. Sometimes our performances lack consistency. We must fix it. We have a high quality workforce. But we also need to be more demanding of each other. »
Ronald Koeman fires up for the Netherlands
“This way we can surpass each other. Key players like Virgil van Dijk, Frenkie de Jong and Memphis Depay also contribute. They are the pillars of our team. They can make the difference at a World Cup. But they have to be in great shape for that,” he added. And the Batavian technician continued by announcing a World Cup ” fantastic “
for the Netherlands,
“I don’t see many countries clearly superior to us. We proved it twice this spring against Spain”he recalled. Last March, the Dutch actually faced La Roja in the quarter-finals of the Nations League. This double confrontation ended with the Spaniards qualifying for the Final Four, but in pain (2-2 on the first leg, 3-3, 5-4 tab on the return).
