The Dutch Women in 2026: chasing the tenth star at home

Paris, 9 August 2024. After sixty minutes it is 1-1 in the Olympic final against China, and the best hockey team in the world has to go to shoot-outs to keep its dominance from cracking. Then Anne Veenendaal steps forward. Three times she dives into the right corner, three times the ball stays out of the Dutch goal, and the Netherlands are Olympic champions once again. It is the image that has defined the Dutch women for decades: so dominant that the only real opponent seems to be the tension of the moment itself.

Two years later that team begins a tournament on home soil that no other nation has ever experienced this way. Nine world titles already sit on the shirt, and in August 2026 the Netherlands chase the tenth at the Wagener Stadium, as reigning Olympic, European, Pro League and world champions all at once. The Olympic ticket for 2028 is already secured, Xan de Waard is playing her last tournament, and so there is literally nothing left to win but that single star. This dossier lays it all out: the position in 2026, the history behind the tenth star, the Ehren era, the twenty-name selection puzzle, the tactical profile with its honest vulnerability, the rivals, the mental story of the eternal favourite, the social significance and ten concrete viewing tips for anyone who wants to follow the matches closely.

World ranking and qualification

As one of the two host nations, alongside Belgium, the Netherlands are automatically qualified for the World Cup. That handed head coach Raoul Ehren a luxury the competition lacked: building a multi-year cycle without the pressure of qualifiers. Meanwhile the team showed on the field that the place would have been earned anyway, with successive strong Pro League seasons and the European title in 2025.

On the FIH world ranking the Dutch have stood unchallenged at the top for years, with a gap to the rest that has no equivalent in any other global team sport. Where the men's elite is bunched closely together, the Dutch women effectively operate in a class of their own. That statistical reality is also a tactical weapon: opponents almost always set up defensively against the Netherlands, which gives the team room to dictate the tempo and the way the game is played.

The flip side of that lead is subtler. Every opponent studies the Dutch in detail, every team plays the match of its life, and every misstep becomes world news. The ranking says the Netherlands are favourites. What it does not say is how much it costs to prove that, match after match.

All World Cup appearances of the Dutch women

Since the first edition in 1974, the Dutch women have been the most successful team in the history of women's hockey. With nine world titles the Netherlands stand alone at the top of the all-time list, far ahead of countries such as Argentina, Australia and Germany. The full run:

The Netherlands have reached the World Cup final twelve times in total: nine as winners, three as runners-up. On top of that the team has won five Olympic titles (Los Angeles 1984, Beijing 2008, London 2012, Tokyo 2021 and Paris 2024) and, with thirteen European titles, holds the record at that level too.

The nine world titles at a glance

The very first edition in 1974, played in Mandelieu after the tournament was moved away from the Netherlands, was an immediate Dutch triumph with a 1-0 win over Argentina. The event was still organised by the IFWHA back then, not the FIH. The titles of 1978, 1983, 1986 and 1990 established the Dutch definitively as a hockey superpower.

After a dry spell in the 1990s and early 2000s, with silver in 1998 in their own Utrecht and in 2002, the breakthrough returned under Marc Lammers in 2006. Lammers introduced an elite-sport climate in which nutrition, video analysis and data became decisive. Max Caldas led the team to gold in 2014 in The Hague, with a 2-0 win over Australia. In 2018 in London the Dutch under Alyson Annan crushed Ireland 6-0 in the final, still a record margin. The ninth title followed in 2022, in a tournament co-hosted in Amstelveen and Terrassa, with a 3-1 win over Argentina (Wikipedia).

The World Cup legacy: building towards the tenth star

The step to ten world titles carries a symbolic weight that exists nowhere else in global team sport. The current generation stands on the shoulders of players such as Naomi van As, Maartje Paumen, Janneke Schopman and Annan herself, names that set the Dutch standard. For the 2026 squad the tenth star is not only a sporting goal but an obligation to the history of the sport, and for exactly that reason a burden that rests on no one else.

Philosophy and approach

Since September 2024, Raoul Ehren has been the architect of Dutch women's hockey. His appointment was a strategic move by the KNHB, but a controversial one: Ehren invoked an escape clause in his contract with the Belgian federation, where he had transformed the Red Panthers in a few years from also-rans into serious medal contenders. The Belgian federation spoke of a breach of trust (Belga News). Ehren, born in Den Bosch and raised as a player and club coach at that club, signed with the Netherlands through the Los Angeles 2028 Games (NOS).

He combines the individual freedom his predecessor Paul van Ass gave the players with a firmer tactical structure and data-driven choices. Where Van Ass let the team sail on intuition, Ehren places more emphasis on collective pressing and structured circle penetrations. He runs an open-door policy for a broad training squad, precisely to prevent complacency: no one is sure of their place, not even the established names.

Paris 2024: the Olympic gold under Van Ass and the legacy

The Olympic title of Paris 2024 was the crowning of the Van Ass era, not Ehren's. The Netherlands started shakily but grew into the tournament, and in the final against China were still level at 1-1 after sixty minutes. In the shoot-outs Anne Veenendaal played a heroic role and the Netherlands won 3-1 in the penalty series (NOS). Van Ass decided immediately afterwards not to extend his contract, in his own words because it would not get better than this. Ehren thus inherited a team at its peak, with the task not to build but to consolidate, which in elite sport is often the hardest of all.

The playing style of 2026 is an accumulation of layers: Lammers' elite-sport professionalisation, Caldas' tactical discipline, Annan's philosophy of simplicity and smart passing, Van Ass' joy of playing, and now Ehren's structure. The common thread through all those changes remains the same: possession, high pressing and the absolute will to dictate the game.

European Championship 2025 Mönchengladbach: the thirteenth European title

At the 2025 European Championship in Mönchengladbach, the Netherlands claimed their first major prize under Ehren: the thirteenth European title, the fifth in a row, with a 2-1 win over Germany in the final (hockey.nl). Pien Sanders crowned her 150th cap with two goals against those same Germans in the group stage, and Yibbi Jansen guided the team past Spain in the semi-final with a hat-trick of penalty corners. Tellingly, this title did not come easily either: in the final the Netherlands had to come back from a deficit.

FIH Pro League 2025-26: the title and the Olympic ticket

The 2025-26 Pro League season ended on 28 June with a Dutch title, the sixth in seven seasons. For the first time the overall win carried a direct Olympic ticket, so the Netherlands became the first nation after the host to qualify for the Los Angeles 2028 Games (FIH). The team won every match it played; the second meeting with Argentina in December 2025 in Santiago del Estero was called off due to severe weather and awarded to the Netherlands under FIH rules. Yibbi Jansen was the tournament's top scorer.

In sporting terms that is a unique starting position for a World Cup: the Netherlands enter their home tournament as reigning Olympic, European, Pro League and world champions all at once, with Olympic qualification for 2028 already secured. Mentally it is a double-edged gift. The team has nothing left to prove and nothing left to win but the tenth star, and that is exactly the kind of starting position in which an elite team can lose its edge.

Preparation towards August 2026

After the Pro League closing block in Rotterdam and Waver came a short break. In mid-July the group steps back onto the training pitch for the final phase of preparation, in which Ehren announces his definitive twenty-player World Cup selection (hockey.nl).

The staff under Ehren

Head coach Raoul Ehren has led the Dutch women since September 2024. Before his appointment he guided the Belgian Red Panthers to the world top for four years; before that he won many national titles and European trophies with Den Bosch in the Hoofdklasse, and became world and European champion with the Netherlands under-21s (Hockey Magazine). In 2025 former international Robert Tigges joined his staff as assistant coach. The goalkeeping fraternity was hit hard in October 2025 when long-serving goalkeeping coach Simon Zijp died suddenly; for fifteen years he had worked with the goalkeepers of both the men and the women.

The new arithmetic: twenty names instead of eighteen

In mid-July the final phase of preparation begins, and Ehren makes his decisions under a rule that changes the entire selection question. For the first time a national coach may take twenty players to a World Cup, while eighteen names still appear on the team sheet for each match (hockey.nl). That yields two substitutes per game, and thus the luxury of selecting a player who is not yet fully match-fit without immediately making her play the complete programme of seven matches in two weeks. It is precisely that margin that keeps the door open for the returnees in the group.

Ehren plays in a fixed setup with three defenders, four midfielders and three forwards. In the match selection he usually opts for four defenders, six midfielders and six forwards, supplemented by two goalkeepers. That distribution explains why the midfield is already full on paper and the real battle is decided at the back and up front. One caveat remains: several internationals can operate in more than one position.

Training squad July 2026

The group with which Ehren enters the final phase is the core of the Pro League selection, supplemented by the players who forced their way into contention in the closing block in Rotterdam and Waver. Josine Koning is still recovering from the knee injury she picked up just before the play-offs, Guusje Moes has just returned and scored immediately on her debut, and Laura Nunnink is working on her comeback after a cruciate ligament injury.

Key players

Renée van Laarhoven (co-captain, SCHC). Defender and, since February 2026, captain of the Netherlands, officially confirmed by the KNHB after the draw (KNHB). She took over the armband when Pien Sanders was absent in late 2025; the two now share the captaincy. At her club she succeeded Xan de Waard as captain; she describes herself as someone about connection who brings energy through positivity. At the back her place in the World Cup selection is not in doubt.

Pien Sanders (co-captain, Den Bosch). A 156-cap international and the leading figure at the 2025 European Championship, where she crowned her 150th cap with two goals against Germany. In the build-up to the World Cup, Ehren uses her in midfield, where she shares the captaincy with Van Laarhoven. She is known for her tactical insight and her willingness to be critical, even after big wins.

Xan de Waard (SCHC). The tactical heart and playmaker in midfield, and with 238 caps the most experienced player in the group. Twice she was named FIH Player of the Year, in 2023 and 2025, a rare global feat. This World Cup will be her farewell tournament, which gives every match in Amstelveen an extra layer: the best player in the world closes her career on the turf that is the home of Dutch hockey. Her acceleration with the ball is still one of the Netherlands' most dangerous weapons.

Yibbi Jansen (SCHC). The penalty corner specialist and, with 104 international goals in 106 matches, the most productive player in the team. In 2024 she was FIH Player of the Year, in 2025 FHM Sportswoman of the Year, and in 2025-26 she was top scorer of the Pro League they won. Her drag flick, based on an extremely late release of the ball, is a technical one-off (Olympics.com). Her father Ronald Jansen won Olympic gold as a goalkeeper in 2000.

Frédérique Matla (Den Bosch). The attacking leader and Den Bosch's all-time top scorer in the Hoofdklasse, with 116 international goals. In 2025 she passed the mark of one hundred goals for the Netherlands and was top scorer of the 2026 Euro Hockey League with eight goals. Known for positioning and scoring instinct, and the second penalty corner specialist behind Jansen.

Felice Albers (Amsterdam). FIH Player of the Year 2022 and one of four consecutive Dutch winners of that title. She missed the 2025 European Championship with physical complaints, but in 2026 she is again among the mainstays in midfield. Her speed and individual action give the Netherlands depth against teams that park the bus.

Anne Veenendaal (Amsterdam). With 146 caps the veteran between the posts and the heroine of the Olympic final in Paris 2024. In the play-offs of May 2026 she helped Amsterdam to the national title with crucial saves, confirmation that at thirty she has not yet reached her ceiling. Because of Josine Koning's knee injury, she is the undisputed first choice in the World Cup build-up.

Lisa Post (SCHC). Defender, back after a thumb injury and indispensable for her speciality: running out the penalty corner, if necessary at the risk of her own limbs. In a team that has to rely on set pieces, that is the mirror-image skill at the other end of the pitch.

Sanne Koolen (Den Bosch). Defender with around 150 caps by now, a quiet but indispensable force in the defensive organisation and one of the players who guards the continuity between the golden generations.

The World Cup puzzle by line

The battle for the twenty World Cup tickets has largely been decided, except in exactly those places where it hurts. In midfield the six spots in the match selection are effectively taken; at the back and up front it is about the last seats, and about how much room Ehren dares to make for the new generation.

Between the posts it all comes down to one question: will Koning recover from her knee in time? If not, the second goalkeeping spot is open for Babette Backers, who debuted in Rotterdam and now has three caps. At the back the fourth ticket is between Rosa Fernig, still waiting for her definitive breakthrough, and Danique van der Veerdonk, who with a European Championship behind her knows what a major tournament demands. Thanks to the two extra places, the loser of that duel need not give up hope immediately: Ehren can still take a fifth defender.

The biggest question mark is called Laura Nunnink. The experienced Den Bosch midfielder is still on the way back from the cruciate ligament injury that felled her more than a year ago, and the new twenty-player setup was made precisely for her: Ehren can manage her load without her having to play the full programme. If that race against the clock fails, Daantje de Kruijff moves up, or Eline Jansen, who as the only one of the young forwards can also operate in midfield and is thus the most valuable substitute card.

Up front, Jip Dicke's foot injury makes the puzzle unintentionally simpler. Fay van der Elst has the best credentials, with her speciality of popping up at the right moment for the tip-in. And then there is Guusje Moes, who grabbed her chance in Waver with both hands and scored immediately on her debut, a month after an arm injury had kept her out of the selection.

The Ehren system

Under Ehren the Netherlands play a recognisable 1-3-4-3, with three defenders, four midfielders and three forwards, and with a great deal of fluidity between the lines, allowing the team to create an overload in almost any part of the pitch (hockey.nl). The strategic core is an aggressive full press: the forwards, often Pien Dicke or Freeke Moes, immediately pressure the opponent's build-up, while the passing lanes into midfield are screened off. When the Netherlands win the ball, they switch at lightning speed, with De Waard as the central axis who immediately looks for depth. In the win over Argentina in December 2025 that maturity was clearly visible: the Argentine star players barely got through the lines (FIH). Defensively, Ehren increasingly added zonal elements to the traditional man-to-man to keep the spine of the pitch closed.

The goalkeeping battle

Here lies the most concrete vulnerability heading into August. For a long time the Dutch goalkeeping department was a luxury problem: two equal internationals, Veenendaal and Koning, who alternated and kept each other sharp. That situation has changed. Koning picked up a knee injury just before the play-offs and is still recovering, leaving her World Cup participation uncertain (hockey.nl). Veenendaal is therefore the undisputed number one, with Babette Backers behind her, who debuted in Rotterdam and now has three caps. For a team that took Olympic gold on shoot-outs in both Tokyo and Paris, goalkeeping depth is not a detail but a weapon, and that weapon now leans entirely on one player. The loss of goalkeeping coach Simon Zijp, who prepared both keepers for those shoot-out moments for years, does not make the puzzle any smaller.

The penalty corner as a weapon

The Dutch penalty corner is the most efficient attacking weapon in international women's hockey. Yibbi Jansen is the primary drag-flicker, with a technique based on an extremely late release that prevents runners from adjusting their line in time (hockey.nl). If she is neutralised, the Netherlands have a second option in Matla, who more often opts for power and corner precision, and in addition slip and tip-in variations via Sanders, De Waard, Pien Dicke and Fay van der Elst.

It is precisely that strength that exposes the second vulnerability: a considerable part of the Dutch output comes from set pieces, and on an off day at the corner, or if an opponent shuts Jansen down, an important weapon disappears. Add the uncertainty in goal, and the picture shifts from untouchable to human. The Netherlands remain overwhelming favourites, but the biggest opponent is not on the pitch: it is the pressure to win at home what is already expected to be won.

Argentina: the eternal rival

The rivalry with Argentina (Las Leonas) is the most deeply rooted in women's hockey, with high physical and emotional intensity. Defining moments such as the first Dutch world title in 1974, the Tokyo final and the 2022 World Cup final mark the history. Argentina plays on individual quality and opportunistic counters; the 4-0 in December 2025 was a powerful Dutch signal, but Las Leonas often rise above themselves at major tournaments. And it was Argentina that took two more World Cup titles off the Netherlands in 2002 and 2010.

Belgium: the Ehren controversy

The relationship with the Red Panthers has been on edge since September 2024 because of Ehren's move. He knows the individual weaknesses of the Belgian players in detail, while Belgium under new head coach Rein van Eijk knows exactly how his tactical mind works (FIH). As co-host, Belgium plays in Wavre and can only meet the Dutch in the semi-final or final, which gives such a match a double charge.

Germany: the tactical chess match

Germany forces the Netherlands into the utmost discipline. In the 2025 Euro final it smothered the Dutch attacking waves for a long time with a patient Raumdeckung. Under Dutch former international Janneke Schopman, Germany shuts off the spine of the field and waits for errors in the build-up (Times of India). For the Dutch, Germany is the constant yardstick for European supremacy.

China: the Annan discipline

Under former head coach Alyson Annan, China has become a tactically extremely disciplined team, with a rock-solid defence and an extremely high fitness level. China reached the Olympic final in Paris 2024 and has nearly closed the gap to the world top. Annan knows the Dutch system from the inside, which would make a possible World Cup duel a unique chess match.

Key players per rival

Argentina:

• Agostina Alonso: mobile midfielder, the tactical heart of Las Leonas.
• María Granatto: dangerous in transition and on counters.
• Eugenia Trinchinetti: all-round player, previously high in the FIH Player of the Year vote.

Belgium:

• Charlotte Englebert: leadership figure in the Belgian team.
• Stephanie Vanden Borre: experienced penalty corner specialist.
• Alix Gerniers: attacking threat, nominated for FIH Player of the Year 2025.

Germany:

• Sonja Zimmermann: defender and driver, active at Amsterdam in the Hoofdklasse.
• Charlotte Stapenhorst: experienced attacking leader.

China:

• Li Hong: active in the Dutch Hoofdklasse, nominated for FIH Player of the Year 2025.
• Liu Ping: goalkeeper, nominated for FIH Goalkeeper of the Year 2025.

The profile of a top team is shaped by the matches it lost, not by those it won. For the Dutch women that principle is paradoxical: this team wins so much that the real mental lessons rarely come from defeat, but from managing the pressure of being the eternal favourite. In the Netherlands, only winning counts for the women's team. A semi-final exit or a lost final would be seen as a national disappointment. That expectation is not only sporting; it is structurally anchored in the hockey culture. Everyone who plays the Netherlands knows they are the team to beat, and that is a privilege and a burden at once.

The past cycle added three profound experiences: the turbulent period around coach Annan in 2021, which led to an internal culture analysis; the recovery under Van Ass, who brought the team back to itself with the joy of playing; and the Olympic gold of Paris 2024, taken on shoot-outs with Veenendaal as the decisive figure, a moment that still resonates in the group. Under Ehren came the choice to combine autonomy and structure: their own tactical decisions, but within data-driven frameworks. Too much structure smothers creativity, too little leads to chaos. A personal layer was added in October 2025, when goalkeeping coach Simon Zijp died suddenly at the age of 61. For fifteen years he worked with the goalkeepers of both the men and the women, and for the goalkeeping group the 2026 World Cup thus carries a double meaning: it is also a tribute to the man who laid the foundation for the double gold in Paris (hockey.nl).

Since late June a problem has been added that no other team has: the Netherlands have nothing left to win. With the Pro League title came the Olympic ticket for Los Angeles 2028, more than two years before the Games. That removes the classic incentive with which elite athletes keep themselves sharp, the idea that something is at stake that you do not yet have. What remains is one goal, and that goal is symbolic: a tenth star on a shirt that already carries nine. A team that already owns everything and yet has to prove everything is exactly the kind of team that stumbles in elite sport.

The home advantage does not make that puzzle any lighter. The Wagener Stadium is familiar ground, but the pressure of a home crowd can also paralyse. The most recent precedent is positive: in 2022 the Netherlands won the world title here, with a 3-1 win over Argentina in that same stadium. The question for 2026 is whether that pattern can be repeated in a tournament in which part of the world is waiting for the moment the Dutch hegemony finally cracks.

And there is a deadline no one can move. For Xan de Waard, twice the best player in the world, this tournament will be her last. That gives every match in Amstelveen a second clock: alongside the sixty minutes on the board, a career is running out. Such farewells can lift a team, and they can make it tense up. For Ehren, playing his debut World Cup as the man in charge, that is the real test of his philosophy of structured dominance: not whether his system works, but whether it holds when sentiment enters the dressing room.

Hockey in the Netherlands is not a niche but a mass sport on grass. In the 2024/25 season the KNHB counted no fewer than 252,601 registered players, more than four thousand up on the year before and the first rise in eight years (hockey.nl). That makes hockey the fifth-largest sports federation in the country, after football, tennis, angling and golf, spread across more than three hundred clubs. Within that landscape the Dutch women act as role models and as a driving force behind the steady growth at grassroots level.

The systemic secret is called coopetition. The Tulp Hoofdklasse is regarded worldwide as the strongest club competition, and within it players who are loyal teammates in the national team are bitter rivals at their clubs. A top player trains four to five times a week at her club, plus central days with the national team, and is challenged at the highest level every Sunday. How sharp that keeps everyone was clear in April 2026, when SCHC beat Den Bosch 1-0 in the Euro Hockey League final to take the European club title, with Frédérique Matla of the losing finalist as the tournament's top scorer (Wikipedia).

That strength has built an export value that comes back like a boomerang at the 2026 World Cup. Alyson Annan leads China, Janneke Schopman is Germany's head coach, and Ehren himself made the move from Belgium. So in August the Dutch play not only against opponents but also against their own tactical heritage. The tournament also has a broader social face: for the first time the FIH ParaHockey World Cup, for athletes with an intellectual disability, is held at the same time and in the same main stadiums (hockey.be). The legacy question for 2026 is therefore twofold: does this team add a tenth star to the shirt, and does it at the same time inspire a new generation of girls to keep filling the Dutch hockey school?

The Wagener Stadion: the Dutch fortress

The Wagener Stadion in Amstelveen is more than a venue, it is the spiritual home of Dutch hockey. Built in 1939 and owned by the KNHB since 1980, it is temporarily expanded for the World Cup into one of the largest hockey stadiums in the world during the tournament. For the players the familiar pitch is a real advantage: they know every metre and every angle of the light in evening matches. The Dutch play all their pool matches here, and the women's final is in Amstelveen too.

Pool A and the tournament format

The Netherlands are drawn in Pool A, together with Australia, Japan and Chile, and play all these matches at the Wagener Stadion (KNHB). The tournament features sixteen nations in four pools of four. The best two per pool advance to a second group stage, in which Pool A and D form Group E and the head-to-head results carry over, followed by the semi-finals, the bronze match and the final. On paper Pool A is manageable, but the styles differ sharply: the physical strength of Australia, the disciplined defensive block of Japan and the tempo shifts of Chile each demand a different answer.

Scenario analysis: the road to the final

In the best case the Dutch win Pool A and cross in the second group stage with the top two of Pool D, which includes China and England among others. That keeps the toughest rivals, Argentina, Belgium and Germany, out of sight until the semi-final or final. The biggest trap on that route is China: so tactically disciplined that an early confrontation is riskier than the ranking suggests.

The second scenario arises with an early slip, most likely against Australia, historically the Dutch women's biggest World Cup rival after Argentina. A defeat or draw pushes the Netherlands into a heavier bracket. In both cases the same holds: a meeting with Argentina, Belgium or Germany is unavoidable in the closing stage, and a final in a sold-out Wagener Stadion on 29 August is, dramaturgically, the ultimate ending. The third, least-discussed scenario is that the patched-up squad and the goalkeeping uncertainty undo the Dutch in a knock-out match; it is the scenario the rest of the world is hoping for.

1. The full press of Dicke and Moes. The Dutch press is not blind pressure but a coordinated movement that systematically screens off the passing lanes into midfield. Watch how Pien Dicke and Freeke Moes immediately hunt the opponent's build-up, while De Waard closes the central space. If the press works, the ball is at De Waard's feet within seconds, and she immediately looks for depth; if it fails, the defence has to recover at high speed. In the 4-0 over Argentina in December 2025 this pattern was seen at its best (FIH).

2. The drag flick of Yibbi Jansen. Jansen's direct penalty corner is the Netherlands' deadliest weapon, based on an extremely late release that sends runners the wrong way. Watch the moment of release and how often opponents put an extra defender on her. Jansen is the 2025-26 Pro League top scorer, and if she is shut down, the threat shifts to Matla (Olympics.com).

3. Xan de Waard's farewell. Between winning the ball and a shooting chance there are often only a handful of seconds for the Netherlands, and De Waard is the player who bridges that gap. Observe how quickly she looks for depth after a turnover and how the forwards make crossing runs to pull space; she was given her second FIH Player of the Year title in 2025 explicitly for that connecting role. Watch the emotion too, because this is her last tournament: how the team behaves around her in the closing stages of a tight match tells you whether the farewell lifts or weighs.

4. The goalkeeping question of Veenendaal. Because of Josine Koning's knee injury, Anne Veenendaal is the undisputed number one, with the very young Babette Backers and her three caps as the only alternative. Watch the moments when a team that once thrived on goalkeeping depth now leans entirely on one player, and how Veenendaal lives up to her reputation in shoot-outs. It is at the same time a tribute to goalkeeping coach Simon Zijp, whose preparation is embedded in her work.

5. The return of Felice Albers. Albers missed the 2025 European Championship with physical complaints, a big loss for a former world player of the year. Her cameos in the second and fourth quarters can make the difference against tired, deeper-defending opponents. Watch her speed in one-on-ones.

6. The leadership of Van Laarhoven. Renée van Laarhoven has captained the Netherlands since February 2026 with a style she herself describes as connecting and positive, different from the tactical-critical tone of her predecessor Sanders. Look at her body language after a conceded goal: no heated conversation, but a firm reset (hockey.nl).

7. The Argentine counter around Granatto. Argentina are most dangerous in transition, with Granatto able to break open the first line on individual class, supported by Alonso. For the Dutch defence, the key is to cut out the first pass, because it is precisely this type of transition with which Las Leonas have hurt the Netherlands before.

8. China's Annan block. Under Annan, China rarely seek the ball in midfield, but consistently choose the long ball forward to put the Dutch goalkeeper under immediate pressure. Watch how disciplined their defending is and how they try to frustrate the Netherlands into a mistake, in what is also a chess match between Annan and her old hockey country.

9. Germany's Raumdeckung. Germany invite the Netherlands onto the flanks and then close the central spaces with a collective shift. The Dutch solution lies in diagonal passing and in long-range shots from Jansen from deeper positions. Watch who orchestrates the centre for Germany.

10. The Wagener effect. The proximity of the crowd and the historic weight of the stadium are a tactical factor in themselves. In the closing stages of tight matches, watch how the stands drive the Dutch tempo, and how the team draws energy from it, or tenses up because of it.

Three end scenarios are taking shape. In the first, the Netherlands take the tenth star on 29 August in a sold-out Wagener Stadium, completing the full collection within a single cycle: Olympic, European, Pro League and world gold, an achievement without precedent in global team sport. In the second, the team stumbles over its own expectation, or over the uncertainty in goal, and the home tournament ends in the disappointment that in the Netherlands is the name for any outcome less than gold. In the third, the Netherlands lose in the closing stages to a rival playing the match of her life, Argentina, Belgium or Germany, exactly the scenario the rest of the hockey world is hoping for.

Whatever the outcome, this World Cup is a turning point. Xan de Waard is playing her last tournament, and whether that ends with a final on 29 August or with a lost quarter-final does not lie in her hands alone. The central question is not whether the Netherlands are good enough, they are, and the Olympic qualification for 2028 is already in the vault. The question is whether the most dominant team in its sport can carry the pressure of a tournament in which it can only lose what it already has, on the stage where it all has to come together. On Saturday 29 August, in Amstelveen, we will know the answer.

Official sources:

• FIH and FIH Pro League
• KNHB and hockey.nl
• TeamNL
• Olympics.com
• World Cup 2026

Dutch media:

• NOS Sport
• AD
• NU.nl
• Hockey-Magazine