Netherlands Considers Goalkeeper Robin Rops for Penalty Shootout Against Morocco in 2026 World Cup

The Netherlands national football team has a history of being eliminated in penalty shootouts, having lost three times in the European Championship and three times in the World Cup. Ahead of their knockout match against Morocco in the 2026 World Cup, Dutch media outlet Telegraaf suggested there is renewed hope due to goalkeeper Robin Rops of Sunderland.

Historically, the Dutch team struggled in shootouts during major tournaments in 1992, 1996, 1998, and 2000, losing to Brazil, Denmark, France, and Italy respectively. The team briefly overcame this in 2004 by defeating Sweden in a shootout, and again in the 2014 World Cup when coach Louis van Gaal substituted goalkeeper Tim Krul specifically for the shootout against Costa Rica, leading to a memorable victory. However, in the 2014 semifinal against Argentina, the Dutch lost in a shootout as all substitutions had been used. In 2022, again under Van Gaal, the Netherlands lost to Argentina in the quarterfinals after penalties.

The Dutch media are now debating whether coach Ronald Koeman will trust first-choice goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen for a potential shootout against Morocco or use Robin Rops as a surprise "wild card." Rops has saved four out of eight penalties faced in his career, a 50% save rate, which is significantly higher than Verbruggen's seven saves out of 54 penalties faced. The second goalkeeper, Mark Flekken, is considered less likely to be used in this role, having saved only one penalty out of 47 in his career. This discussion reflects the Dutch team's ongoing concern about penalty shootouts as they prepare for the 2026 World Cup knockout stages.