Frenkie de Jong — Netherlands World Cup 2026 Squad

Frenkie de Jong is still the midfielder who best explains how the Netherlands want to play. He is 29, he plays for Barcelona, and he has 80 caps with 16 goals. De Jong takes the first pass under pressure and then carries the move through the zone where most teams try to trap it. Once he escapes that first wave, the whole Dutch shape opens up. He does not need to force the final action every time to be decisive. Often his best work is making the next action easier for someone else. In a World Cup, where so many good sides try to choke the centre of the pitch, that skill becomes one of the squad's most useful assets.