Koeman on the first, second and third goalkeeper | This former PSV player is playing with Japan against the Netherlands

For the Netherlands national team, Sunday evening at 10 p.m. Dutch time, the first match of the 2026 World Cup is on the calendar. The squad coached by head coach Ronald Koeman, with PSV player Guus Til in the selection, will play against the dangerous Japan.

In the Asian country, a former PSV player was selected by the national team coach. None other than Ritsu Doan, who was active at PSV from 2019 to 2022 and was loaned out in between to Arminia Bielefeld, may represent Japan at the World Cup in North America.

At the previous World Cup in Qatar, the Japanese managed—thanks in part to the former PSV player, friend and foe alike—to surprise everyone by finishing first in a group with football giants Germany and Spain. Japan won both matches 2-1 and in both games Doan was on target with a goal.

Thanks in part to the victory over Spain, Germany were eliminated in the group stage and Japan played in the second round against Croatia's Ivan Perisic. In the end, the Croatians managed to advance to the quarterfinals against Brazil on penalties.

Doan is so far the only Japanese person who has ever worn the PSV shirt. In the summer of 2022, PSV decided to sell the Japanese midfielder to SC Freiburg and since this season, Doan has been wearing the shirt of Eintracht Frankfurt, where former PSV player and world champion Mario Götze is also active.

For the Netherlands national team, there could be a mini-keepers carousel on the horizon. The injury to Verbruggen has many Oranje fans fearing the worst. However, it seems to be manageable. Bart Verbruggen is fit enough to come into action for the Netherlands national team in the group match against Japan. That is what national team coach Ronald Koeman told the press conference ahead of that meeting. He also made known who the first, second, and third goalkeeper of Oranje is.

"Bart can keep. He was able to train fully both Friday and Saturday", Koeman tells. "Mark Flekken is the second keeper, Robin Roefs the third", Koeman said, who is nevertheless under a great deal of pressure in the Netherlands because of his approach and, in particular, his appearance and demeanor during press moments.

Verbruggen was ruled out during the friendly match against Uzbekistan (2-1), after which he trained individually for several days. The Premier League goalkeeper was the only doubt ahead of the group match against Japan. For the rest, there are no injury concerns for Oranje, meaning Koeman can rely on a fully fit squad.