Feyenoord’s Valente earns first Netherlands call-up for qualifiers

Luciano Valente singing the national anthem before the Euro U21 semifinal against England on June 25th, 2025

Feyenoord midfielder Luciano Valente has received his first call-up to the Dutch national team for their final World Cup qualifiers against Lithuania and Poland.

The 22-year-old midfielder joined Feyenoord from FC Groningen during the summer and quickly won a starting job in Robin van Persie's midfield.

Along with Valente, Sunderland's Lutsharel Geertruida returns to the Oranje squad after being left out of the squads for the World Cup qualifiers in September and October. Geertruida fills in for the injured Jeremie Frimpong, who suffered a hamstring injury in Liverpool's 5-1 Champions League win over Eintracht Frankfurt in October.

Further additions to the squad include Manchester United's Matthijs de Ligt and Napoli's Noa Lang. AZ's Mexx Meerdink and Inter's Stefan de Vrij have been dropped by manager Ronald Koeman.

The Netherlands will travel to Poland for a meeting with the second-placed team in the group on November 14th before hosting Lithuania on November 17th in what will be Oranje's final FIFA World Cup qualifier.

Goalkeepers:0Mark Flekken (Bayer Leverkusen), Robin Roefs (Sunderland), Bart Verbruggen (Brighton)

Defenders:0Nathan Ake (Manchester City), Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool), Denzel Dumfries (Inter), Lutsharel Geertruida (Sunderland), Quilindschy Hartman (Burnley), Jan Paul van Hecke (Brighton), Matthijs de Ligt (Manchester United), Jurrien Timber (Arsenal), Micky van de Ven (Tottenham Hotspur)

Midfielders:0Ryan Gravenberch (Liverpool), Frenkie de Jong (FC Barcelona), Justin Kluivert (Bournemouth), Tijjani Reijnders (Manchester City), Jerdy Schouten (PSV), Quinten Timber (Feyenoord), Luciano Valente (Feyenoord)

Forwards:0Cody Gakpo (Liverpool), Noa Lang (Napoli), Donyell Malen (Aston Villa), Memphis Depay (Corinthians), Xavi Simons (Tottenham Hotspur), Wout Weghorst (Ajax)