Memphis Depay, the Netherlands' all-time top scorer and assister, has managed to recover in time from his hamstring injury for the World Cup, while Arsenal's Jurrien Timber also makes the cut, despite earlier doubts from manager Ronald Koeman.
Koeman also handed Bournemouth star Justin Kluivert a call-up after months of injury struggles. Kluivert will come in handy in Oranje's attacking midfield, where Spurs' Xavi Simons will be missed after tearing his ACL in April.
Simons is one of two key midfielders who'll miss out on the tournament due to injury, with PSV captain Jerdy Schouten also out with a torn ACL.
A teammate of Schouten, midfielder and Flashscore Eredivisie Player of the Season Joey Veerman, was not even part of Koeman's secret 55-man preliminary squad. Veerman has not played for the Netherlands since Euro 2024 and recently publicly criticised Koeman for handling the situation: "If you keep holding press conferences like that and saying I’m not a good person, then at some point I’ll just have had enough. He doesn’t need to call me anymore," Veerman told ESPN.
Marten de Roon returns to the Oranje squad after last playing for the Netherlands in March 2024. The Atalanta captain replaces Schouten and Veerman in the 26-man squad. PSV's Guus Til is another returning player, with the 6-time international having played just one game for the Netherlands since June 2022.
Stefan de Vrij and Jeremie Frimpong are other notable omissions.
The full World Cup squad
Goalkeepers: Mark Flekken (Bayer Leverkusen), Robin Roefs (Sunderland), Bart Verbruggen (Brighton)
Defenders: Nathan Aké (Manchester City), Denzel Dumfries (Inter),Jorrel Hato (Chelsea), Jurriën Timber (Arsenal), Micky van de Ven (Spurs), Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool), Jan Paul van Hecke (Brighton), Mats Wieffer (Brighton)
Midfielders: Frenkie de Jong (FC Barcelona), Marten de Roon (Atalanta), Ryan Gravenberch (Liverpool), Justin Kluivert (Bournemouth), Teun Koopmeiners (Juventus), Tijjani Reijnders (Manchester City), Guus Til (PSV), Quinten Timber (Olympique Marseille)
Forwards: Brian Brobbey (Sunderland), Memphis Depay (Corinthians), Cody Gakpo (Liverpool), Noa Lang (Galatasaray, on loan from Napoli), Donyell Malen (Roma), Crysencio Summerville (West Ham), Wout Weghorst (Ajax)
The Netherlands' World Cup schedule
Sunday, June 14th: The Netherlands - Japan (03.00 PM CST local time, 22.00 CET)
Saturday, June 20th: The Netherlands - Sweden (12.00 AM CST local time, 19.00 CET)
Friday, June 26th: Tunisia - The Netherlands (06.00 PM CST local time, 01.00 CET on Friday, June 26th)