JAKARTA – Netherlands National Team (Timnas) coach Ronald Koeman said he expected England to establish a dead ball scheme at the 2026 World Cup, as Arsenal did to win the English League.
Koeman has a notorious history with England’s World Cup dreams after controversially scuppering their qualification for 1994.
Koeman scored in a 2-0 win for the Netherlands that effectively ended England’s hopes of qualifying, after he escaped a red card for bringing down David Platt.
Now as Netherlands head coach, Koeman has predicted how Thomas Tuchel’s side will fare in this summer’s tournament in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
“You can tell how they’re going to play from the selections they’ve made for the England squad. They’ll make the most of corners and throw-ins. That requires the least energy in hot conditions.”
“That’s how Arsenal became champions. Without a corner kick, they wouldn’t have succeeded,” Koeman said as he announced the Netherlands squad for the 2026 World Cup.
The dead ball, which is often swung in by Declan Rice who will lead the England midfield, was a big part of Arsenal’s success in ending their 22-year wait for an English League trophy. Arsenal scored 19 goals from corners this season – the most in an English League season.
Tuchel has also selected aerial aces Dan Burn and Ivan Toney in his squad, confirming Koeman’s predictions.
“We have specialists for different scenarios, when we are ahead, when we are chasing. We always say that we want to be a strong team in the dead ball.”
“So, we have specialists for that. We want to be a strong team in penalties,” Tuchel said earlier.
Koeman has included Jurrien Timber, who assisted Arsenal in the success of the dead ball in both penalty boxes, among his defenders.
He also has a number of players familiar with the English League even though he did not include Jeremie Frimpong from Liverpool.
Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk and former Manchester United strikers Memphis Depay and Wout Weghorst are among the experienced players he has.
Depay was relied upon despite suffering an injury at Euro 2004, but now Holland can also count on former Aston Villa striker Donyell Malen, who has enjoyed a good half-season with Roma.
“I have changed. Looking back at Euro 2004, I have considered afterwards whether I did things the right way – making (Depay) a starter.”
“So if I think it will be like that again, maybe I will do it in a different way,” Koeman said.
Brian Brobbey and Crysencio Summerville have been rewarded for their impressive performances in the English League by being called up to the Dutch National Team.
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