Dutch coach Koeman said Malen's commitment has not diminished and that he has proven his goal-scoring ability.

The Netherlands, nicknamed the "Oranje," will face Japan, nicknamed the "Blue Samurai," in their opening Group F match of the 2026 World Cup. Netherlands coach Ronald Koeman stated that winger Malen has proven his goal-scoring ability, and the team's overall commitment has not diminished.

In last week's friendly match, the Netherlands defeated Uzbekistan 2-1 thanks to a brace from Gakopo, successfully preparing for the World Cup challenge.

However, Dutch winger Malen missed several scoring opportunities in friendly matches during this period, which drew some criticism.

The 27-year-old Malen was loaned to Roma in January of this year and scored 14 goals and provided two assists for Roma in the 2025/26 Serie A season, also helping Roma qualify for the Champions League.

When discussing Malen's performance, Dutch coach Koeman said, "He has proven that he has the ability to score goals, and he has not completely forgotten how to score. It would be more worrying if his level of commitment dropped, but that is not the case."

"However, in football, the efficiency of seizing opportunities is crucial, and his efficiency has indeed been low recently."

Regarding the team's roster status, Koeman said, "We all know that Depay had some injury problems and hadn't played for the past few weeks, but he's back and is getting closer to 100% every day."

“He is one of the Netherlands national team’s top scorers, and we need his help if we hope to achieve good results in this tournament. Of course, we need every player, but we also need Depay.”

In addition, Japanese captain Wataru Endo, who plays for Liverpool in the English Premier League, has decided to withdraw from the 2026 World Cup due to injury problems.

Koeman continued, "Japan has proven itself to be a very strong team. We are confident in ourselves and respect the Japanese team, but we are the Dutch national team, and they will respect us in return."

"We are really looking forward to this match. I think it will be a very exciting and tough one."

Image source: Internet