The Netherlands: A Dark Horse with Elite Talent
The Netherlands arrive as they so often do: talked about, but not talked up.
They are not filed alongside the heavyweights for this tournament, not bracketed with the obvious favourites. Instead, they sit in that familiar category of dangerous outsider, a dark horse with enough quality to rip through the knockout rounds if the pieces finally fall into place.
A Brutal Group, A Loaded Squad
The draw did them no favours. Japan, Sweden and Tunisia form a group with no soft centre, no guaranteed three points. Yet the Oranje still walk in as favourites to finish top.
Look at the spine. Virgil van Dijk commands the back line, the calm and authority around which everything else is built. In midfield, Frenkie de Jong knits the game together, dictating tempo, threading passes through the lines. Ahead of them, Memphis Depay and Cody Gakpo carry the attacking threat, capable of turning tight games with a single moment.
The talent is obvious. The absences are, too.
Xavi Simons, Jurrien Timber and Matthijs de Ligt have all been ruled out through injury, stripping Koeman of three players who would walk into most squads. Jeremie Frimpong, one of Europe’s most dynamic wing-backs, did not make the final cut. Nor did gifted midfielder Kees Smit, a decision that raised more than a few eyebrows.
Then came the warm-up games. A shock defeat to Algeria jolted the mood. The narrow win over Uzbekistan that followed did little to settle nerves. The Netherlands remain a threat, but the sense of inevitability around them simply is not there.
Koeman’s Second Act
Ronald Koeman knows this team, and this job, better than most. He first took charge in 2018 after Dick Advocaat stepped aside, signing a four-year deal and steering the national side back towards relevance. Under him, the Dutch reached the 2019 UEFA Nations League final and booked their place at Euro 2020.
Barcelona called. Koeman went.
Two and a half years later, he returned to the Oranje bench in 2023, replacing Louis van Gaal. Since then, the Netherlands have reached two more semi-finals, in the 2023 Nations League and at Euro 2024. On paper, that is a solid record. For some, it is not enough.
His work divides opinion at home. Koeman has brought through a fresh wave of young players, reshaping the squad and its future. At the same time, critics argue his approach often strays from the bold, attacking principles that defined the Dutch school under Rinus Michels and Johan Cruyff. The debate is not about results alone; it is about identity, about what Dutch football is supposed to look like on the biggest stage.
That tension follows this team into the tournament.
Depay, The Reluctant Last Dance
Memphis Depay remains the face of this side. He no longer plays in Europe and is likely entering his final major tournament with the national team, but his status is untouched.
He is the all-time leading scorer in Dutch history, with 55 international goals. The list of names he has passed is staggering: Robin van Persie, Dennis Bergkamp, Arjen Robben, Ruud van Nistelrooy. Depay has outscored them all in orange.
At a time when the Netherlands lack a classic, world-class centre-forward, Koeman leans on him again. Depay, now at Corinthians, drove the team through qualification and averages close to a goal every two games for his country. The caveat is clear: only six of those goals have come at major tournaments.
This is the stage where legacies harden. For Depay, it is one more shot at turning numbers into memories.
‘Brobbeast’ and the New Edge Up Front
Behind him, a different kind of story is unfolding.
Brian Brobbey’s path has not been straight. An Ajax academy product, he moved to RB Leipzig with high expectations and left with the “flop” label hanging over him, perhaps far too quickly. The response has come in England.
Now 24 and leading the line for Sunderland, Brobbey has rebuilt his reputation. Seven goals in 31 Premier League appearances might not leap off the page, but the context matters: he played a central role in a remarkable run that ended with the Black Cats securing Europa League football for next season.
His nickname, ‘Brobbeast’, fits. Brobbey brings power, yes, but he is not just a battering ram. He runs the channels, holds the ball, stretches defences. He can lead the line alone and has rediscovered that ruthless edge in front of goal that once had people calling him “the new Romelu Lukaku.”
Those comparisons have faded. Now, young forwards study him on his own terms.
Koeman will not complain. In a squad searching for a cutting edge at centre-forward, Brobbey offers something different: a modern striker who can occupy an entire back four and still find the net. If Depay provides the history, Brobbey might supply the shock factor.
The Netherlands head into the tournament with doubts, with injuries, with questions about style and identity. They also carry a core of elite players, a record-breaking forward, and a striker reborn in England.
For a so-called dark horse, they look suspiciously capable of kicking the door down.
