Jurrien Timber Misses 2026 World Cup With Groin Injury

Netherlands will head to the 2026 World Cup without Jurrien Timber after a groin injury, with Sunderland defender Lutsharel Geertruida called into the squad as replacement for the Arsenal player.

The injury dates back to March 14, when Timber suffered the problem during Arsenal’s win over Everton, then only returned on May 30 in the Champions League final loss to Paris Saint-Germain, coming on after the hour for Mikel Arteta’s team.

Netherlands released a statement which read: Jurrien Timber misses the 2026 World Cup. The 24-year-old defender has not recovered sufficiently from a groin injury to take part in the World Cup in a medically responsible manner. In consultation with the medical staff, it has therefore been decided that Timber will leave the national teams pre-camp in New York after the game against Uzbekistan.

The Dutch federation repeated that assessment in a social media post, stating: “Jurrin Timber misses the 2026 World Cup. The 24-year-old defender has not recovered sufficiently from a groin injury to take part in the World Cup in a medically responsible manner. In consultation with the medical staff, it has therefore been decided that Timber will leave the”

Timber had been an important option in defence, playing five games in Netherlands’ qualifying campaign for the 2026 World Cup, after also featuring four times at the 2022 tournament, but Netherlands now move forward with Geertruida in that position.

This will be Netherlands’ 12th World Cup appearance and the record shows three runners-up finishes, in 1974, 1978 and 2010, giving Netherlands the most final defeats without a title, while the overall win rate of 54.5% places Netherlands behind only Brazil and Germany.

Ronald Koeman’s Netherlands 2026 World Cup schedule begins on June 14 against Japan, before further group fixtures against Sweden and Tunisia, as the Dutch squad adjusts its defensive plans without Timber for the tournament in North America.

With Jurrien Timber ruled out of the Netherlands 2026 World Cup squad and Lutsharel Geertruida stepping in, Koeman must reshape defensive options, while Netherlands aim to convert a strong historical record at the tournament into another long run, despite this setback before facing Japan, Sweden and Tunisia.