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Dutch National Team Bucks the Trend
Interestingly, the Netherlands itself is heading to the tournament with very few homegrown players in its ranks. Only two Eredivisie-based players made the Dutch squad — PSV midfielder Guus Til and Ajax striker Wout Weghorst. That is a dramatic shift from four years ago, when 12 players from clubs based in the Netherlands were included in the national team's World Cup roster. It reflects how Dutch talent has increasingly moved to bigger leagues abroad, even as the Eredivisie continues to develop players for other nations.
Curaçao Leads the Way, Global Picture Takes Shape
The team drawing the most players from Dutch football is Curaçao, which is making its historic World Cup debut after qualifying for the very first time. A total of 12 players from Dutch leagues feature in their squad, the highest of any nation. Japan comes in second, with five players based in the Netherlands. Alongside Haiti, whose representative is Ruben Providence of Almere City FC, Curaçao is one of only two sides to include players from the Dutch second division. Head coach Dick Advocaat's squad includes Kevin Felida of FC Den Bosch, Trevor Doornbusch of VVV-Venlo, and both Godfried Roemeratoe and Roshon van Eijma, who played for RKC Waalwijk.
On the global stage, the English Premier League leads all competitions with 163 of the 1,248 total World Cup players, reinforcing its status as the world's most prominent league. Germany's Bundesliga ranks second with 101 players, while the Eredivisie sits ninth overall. At club level, Manchester City tops the list with 19 representatives, with Bayern Munich close behind at 18. Meanwhile, Qatar and Saudi Arabia each include just one foreign-based player in their squads — Homam Ahmed, who plays for Spanish side Cultural Leonesa, and Saud Abdulhamid of French club Lens, respectively.
