Netherlands exit prolongs Corinthians players' World Cup goal drought | OneFootball

The Netherlands’ elimination to Morocco on penalties in the Round of 64 of the 2026 World Cup kept alive a long-standing taboo involving Corinthians players in the main international tournament for national teams. With the downfall of Memphis Depay’s team, the club still has not seen a player representing Timão score a goal in a World Cup edition since 2006.

The last Corinthians player to find the net in a World Cup was Argentine striker Carlos Tévez. On that occasion, he scored one of the goals in Argentina’s 6-0 win over Serbia on June 16, 2006, in the second round of the group stage. Since then, no player tied to Corinthians has managed to repeat the feat during the tournament.

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After that World Cup, Tévez left Parque São Jorge to complete his transfer to West Ham in England. The deal was handled by Media Sports Investment (MSI), a company that had a partnership with Corinthians at the time.

In the 2010, 2014, and 2022 editions, the club had no players called up for the World Cup. In 2018, goalkeeper Cássio and right-back Fagner were part of the Brazil squad, but neither of them scored during the tournament held in Russia.

In 2026, Memphis Depay represented Corinthians at the World Cup wearing the Netherlands shirt. The forward arrived at the tournament still recovering from a grade 2 injury to the front muscle of his right thigh, suffered in March, and had limited involvement throughout the Dutch campaign.

In total, the number 10 played 51 minutes in the competition and contributed one assist. In the opener against Japan, he came on in the second half of the match, which ended in a 2-2 draw. In the following match, against Sweden, he took part in the 5-1 rout and provided the assist for Summerville’s goal. Then, in the 3-1 win over Tunisia, he again came on in the second half but was not directly involved in the team’s goals. In the knockout match against Morocco, Memphis remained on the bench for the entire game.

Even with the Dutch team’s elimination, Corinthians will benefit financially from FIFA’s Club Benefits Programme. For Memphis’ participation during the tournament, the club secured another $20,000, approximately R$103,000 at the current exchange rate.

Adding up all stages of the Netherlands’ campaign, Timão has accumulated around $80,000, close to R$415,000, referring to the period in which the forward was available to the national team during the World Cup. Corinthians should also receive an additional amount for the Netherlands’ preparation period before the start of the tournament, since Memphis joined the national team on May 30. That amount could reach approximately $75,000, about R$389,000.

Now, the Dutch forward is expected to return to Corinthians for the rest of the season after the vacation period granted by the club. Upon reporting back, Memphis will rejoin the work of the team coached by Fernando Diniz, while negotiations for a possible contract renewal also remain ongoing. The number 10’s current deal with Timão is valid until July 31.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.