33 Eredivisie players heading to the 2026 World Cup: PSV can cash in
1 min readNever before have so many foreign Eredivisie players gone to a World Cup. For the World Cup 2026, a total of 33 players from the Eredivisie have been selected. Of these, 31 are from a country other than the Netherlands. The old record stood at 24 foreign Eredivisie players, during the 2010 World Cup.
PSV is with 10 players the official supplier of the Eredivisie. According to our calculation model, that could earn the Eindhoven club around €3.3 million via the FIFA Club Benefits Programme. Also Feyenoord and Ajax can benefit financially: Feyenoord comes out in the same model at around €1.6 million, Ajax at around €1.4 million.
For the clubs, this is more than just sporting recognition. FIFA pays clubs for players who are released for the World Cup. For 2026, a total of 355 million dollars is available worldwide. The exact daily rate has not yet been definitively published, but based on the World Cup 2022 rate, it is clear that especially PSV can benefit significantly.
PSV Eredivisie supplier of the champions at the 2026 World Cup
PSV supplies 10 players to the 2026 World Cup. PSV not only has players in Oranje, but also in, among others, Croatia, Morocco, the United States, Curaçao, Austria, Czechia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
At PSV it's about Esmir Bajraktarevic, Sergiño Dest, Matej Kovář, Armando Obispo, Ricardo Pepi, Ivan Perisic, Ismael Saibari, Anass Salah-Eddine, Guus Til and Paul Wanner.
Feyenoord and Ajax are followed, respectively, by 5 and 4 WC players. Behind them is PEC Zwolle with 3 players and FC Volendam, NEC and Telstar each with 2 players.
33 Eredivisie players to the 2026 World Cup
Depth of the Eredivisie
In total, 33 players from the Eredivisie have been selected for the 2026 World Cup. Only 2 of them are with the Dutch national team: Wout Weghorst from Ajax and Guus Til from PSV.
For Oranje itself, that is a historic low point. At the 2022 World Cup, Louis van Gaal still took 12 Eredivisie players with him, but for the 2026 World Cup that number is down to just 2. Never before has the Netherlands gone to a finals tournament with so few players from the Eredivisie. The previous low record stood at 5 players, during EURO 2000.
Curacao and Japan stand out in the Eredivisie list
Curaçao is one of the most striking countries in this list. Curaçao brings many players from the Dutch league to the World Cup, while Japan has players from Ajax, Feyenoord and NEC in its squad.
The World Cup debutant has, among others, Armando Obispo, Juninho Bacuna, Brandley Kuwas, Sherel Floranus, Deveron Fonville, Shurandy Sambo, Tyrick Bodak and Tyrese Noslin, many well-known names from the Eredivisie in the squad.
Japan also gets a lot out of the Netherlands. Ko Itakura and Takehiro Tomiyasu play for Ajax, Ayase Ueda and Tsuyoshi Watanabe for Feyenoord, and Koki Ogawa for NEC.
For Dutch football fans, that makes the tournament extra fun to follow. You don’t just see Oranje players again, but also well-known Eredivisie names with countries such as Curaçao, Japan, Australia, Morocco, Croatia and the United States. Especially if you also fill in our free World Cup pool and, for every match, predict for yourself what’s going to happen.
How much money do clubs get for World Cup players?
FIFA pays clubs through the Club Benefits Programme. The programme is intended as compensation for clubs that release players to national teams.
For the 2026 World Cup, a total of $355 million is available worldwide. That is a great deal more than at the 2022 World Cup, when $209 million was distributed among clubs. New for 2026 is that clubs will also be rewarded for players who have been released during World Cup qualifying matches.
For the World Cup finals tournament, the compensation starts from 10 days before the opening match through to the day after the player’s last match. The money goes to the club where the player is registered during that period.
Exact daily rate for 2026 not yet known
The exact daily rate for the 2026 World Cup has not yet been officially published. It is known, however, that the rate at the 2022 World Cup was 10,950 dollars per player per day. Converted, that is approximately €9,430 per player per day.
We use that amount below as a calculation example. The actual amount for 2026 may differ, because FIFA has not yet fully published the final distribution model.
What can PSV earn from 10 World Cup players?
According to our calculation model, PSV is expected to generate revenue of approximately €3.3 million. In doing so, we do not only look at the number of PSV players at the World Cup, but also at the expected tournament path of the countries they represent.
That is important, because PSV does not receive one fixed amount for 10 players. FIFA pays per player and per day. A PSV player from Curaçao has, on paper, likely a shorter World Cup than a player from the Netherlands, Croatia, Morocco, or the United States. The further the country goes, the more days count.
Using the FIFA World Cup 2022 rate of 10,950 dollars per player per day as an example, that works out to approximately €94.300 per paid World Cup day for 10 PSV players. Link that to the expected tournament route per country, based on estimates from the bookmakers, and in this model PSV comes out at around €3,3 million.
PSV revenue from Dutch Cup (expected)
LANDED NUMBER OF EXPECTED DAYSEXPECTED YIELD
Morocco: 236,8± €694.000VS236,8± €694.000
Netherlands: 138,7± €365.000Croatia135,6± €336.000
Austria: 135,0± €330.000Czechia134,3± €324.000
Bosnia: 133,5± €316.000
Curacao: 128,6± €270.000
Total: ± €3.330.000
For PSV, especially players from countries with a reasonable chance of reaching the knockout stage are of interest. Think of Ivan Perisic with Croatia, Ismael Saibari and Anass Salah-Eddine with Morocco, and Sergiño Dest and Ricardo Pepi with the United States.
Will the countries go further than bookmakers now expect, and does the payout for PSV rise further. If the countries are eliminated earlier, then the amount will be lower.
WC can increase transfer value
For PSV, the value of 10 World Cup players is not only in the FIFA payment. A good World Cup can also increase the transfer value of players.
Especially Ismael Saibari is interesting. Transfermarkt values him at €40 million and sees him as the most valuable player in the Eredivisie. Also Ricardo Pepi, estimated at €30 million, can further catch the eye with the United States at a World Cup at home.
Also check the full World Cup 2026 schedule to see when these countries play and what their path through the tournament could look like.
Even Feyenoord and Ajax can earn at the World Cup
PSV stands out, but Feyenoord and Ajax together also provide 9 World Cup players. Using the same calculation model, Feyenoord comes out at approximately €1.6 million and Ajax at approximately €1.4 million.
Feyenoord provides 5 players: Jordan Bos, Anis Hadj Moussa, In-beom Hwang, Ayase Ueda and Tsuyoshi Watanabe.
Especially the two Japanese Feyenoord players are of interest, because according to bookmakers Japan has a serious chance of surviving the group stage. Also South Korea, Algeria and Australia could bring in additional paid days if they progress further than expected.
Ajax delivers 4 World Cup players: Ko Itakura, Takehiro Tomiyasu, Josip Sutalo and Wout Weghorst. The two Japanese players, Sutalo with Croatia and Weghorst with the Netherlands, mean that Ajax in this model also clearly exceeds one million euros.
The amounts for Ajax and Feyenoord are lower than for PSV, but still significant. Especially for Ajax, the return can rise quickly if the Netherlands, Croatia or Japan progresses further in the tournament.
Curaçao gives the Eredivisie extra World Cup color
Curaçao makes its World Cup debut with strikingly many players from the Netherlands. Together with the expansion to 48 countries, this means that for this edition a record number of foreign Eredivisie players will be at the World Cup.
FC Volendam, PEC Zwolle, NEC, Sparta Rotterdam, Telstar and PSV all provide players to Curaçao. As a result, smaller Eredivisie clubs are also visible during the FIFA World Cup.
For clubs like Telstar and FC Volendam, that is special. Normally they do not often provide players for a World Cup. For Dutch supporters, it makes the tournament even more fun to follow.
This article is based on the published World Cup selections, the overview from VI with 33 Eredivisie players at the 2026 World Cup, reporting on the record number of foreign Eredivisie players, and information from FIFA/EFC about the Club Benefits Programme.
Sources
VI: 33 players from the Eredivisie to the World Cup, PSV official supplier
FootballPrimeur: record number of foreign Eredivisie players to the World Cup
FIFA: record amount for the Club Benefits Programme 2026
EFC: explanation Club Benefits Programme and payment per player per day
Stefan Garsthagen
Stefan is the founder of the website Intikkertje and has been interested in betting on sports and casinos for his entire life. He likes to write about developments and news in the casino sector. He also visits online casinos and rates them in casino reviews. Fifteen years ago, he started this website as a football pool platform, where more than 400,000 football fans have now filled out a pool.
Comments18
"keep it simple in possession" is the right vibe 😍 but we still need speed in the final third. too many safe passes, no real killer ball, thats where it stalls.
That front line looked dangerous in bursts, but without a clear runner between the lines it gets predictable. If we want more goals, we need more movement, not just more crosses.
Wie kijkt mee? 😅 If we press high early and get those second balls, we can absolutely run them over. But if the first press fails, its instant chaos.
"PSV Inside" talk aside, if the lineup includes that back line again, im expecting at least one soft goal. Defending feels shaky when the press is slightly late. 💀
No way i buy the "keep it simple" plan if it means slow build-up every time... de Jong has to drive through the lines, not just receive and turn. 🔥
Gakpo being asked to drift wide makes sense, but only if the fullback overlaps with intention. Otherwise we just get possession without penetration. IMO the article nailed the risk, we need more direct runs.
If PSV go with that mid-block again, i swear it will get punished. 👀 Zahavi or Vertessen needs to be sharper in the transitions or we will look clueless after the 60th minute.
Tbh i liked what they tried with the rotations, but the timing is off sometimes. We recycle possession, then waste the momentum, and it turns into a long buildup with no penetration.
We say this every season, score early and we look like machines. Lose the first battle in midfield and it turns into panic defending 💀. Cant wait to see if they start on the front foot.
The quote about being
🔥🔥🔥 This intensity is exactly what i want to see at home. When we win the second balls, our whole game changes.
Ngl the fullback positioning has been a bit shaky. When they step out too early, the winger gets turned and suddenly PSV look one pass away from trouble.
tbh the key for me is the fullbacks. when they step up too early, opponents just play inside and it becomes a 2v2 problem in the middle. would rather see more discipline than "run first, think later".
"PSV Inside" is basically screaming for more intensity on the counter. If the article is right about the build-up tempo, then props, but I still feel they drop off defensively after the first pass into midfield 👀.
Imo Simons has to be more direct early. When he slows it down, opponents regroup and PSV end up recycling from the wings... also need more goals from the box, not just crosses 😅.
That PSV midfield control looks like the key. If they keep shielding the half-spaces, the press becomes way more dangerous 🔥. Really curious how long Van Nistelrooij sticks with that balance.
If PSV are serious about control, we need that midfield to press higher. Right now it feels like the gaps open the second we lose the ball, and opponents walk straight through.
if PSV really went with that high press, i love it... but only if the midfield cover is solid. otherwise it turns into open counter-attacks, and we know what big teams will do with that.