Oranje holds final training ahead of home World Cup qualifier in Groningen

The Dutch national soccer team had its final training session Sunday ahead of its World Cup qualifying match against Malta on Tuesday, marking the first home qualifier in Groningen in 42 years.

Coach Ronald Koeman led 22 players on the training field in Zeist. Midfielder Tijjani Reijnders, recently transferred to Manchester City, left the Oranje training camp earlier Sunday for a medical examination at his new club. Defender Jorrel Hato was absent, having joined Jong Oranje to compete at the European Championship in Slovakia.

The Netherlands enters the match following a 2-0 away victory over Finland on Saturday. Malta earned a single point with a 0-0 draw against Lithuania but suffered losses to Poland (2-0) and Finland (1-0) earlier in the qualification campaign.

Koeman and captain Virgil van Dijk are scheduled to hold a press conference Tuesday at 1:45 p.m. local time before the game. Koeman has deep ties to Groningen, having grown up there and scored his first goal for Oranje in 1983 at Stadion Euroborg, which also features a stand named in his honor. Van Dijk made his professional debut in 2011 with FC Groningen in the Eredivisie.

On the international stage, tensions are rising in Poland, one of Oranje’s opponents in the World Cup qualifiers for the 2026 tournament in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Poland remains unbeaten after two matches and faces Finland away on Tuesday with Piotr Zielinski as captain.

A controversy erupted when Poland’s top scorer Robert Lewandowski, who has earned 158 caps, announced he would suspend his national team career. On Sunday, Lewandowski posted on social media platform X that “given the circumstances and the loss of confidence in the national team coach, I have decided to stop playing for Poland as long as he remains in charge.” Lewandowski added he hopes to return to the team “only after Probierz leaves,” referring to coach Michal Probierz.

Koeman criticized Probierz’s decision to strip Lewandowski of the captaincy, calling it unwise. “You should not pick a fight with your most important player,” Koeman said during a press conference ahead of the Oranje-Malta match. “As a coach, you will never win that.”

The upcoming fixtures place Oranje and Poland on parallel paths, with Poland yet to drop points and the Netherlands seeking to maintain momentum after their recent victory.