The brother pairs of Dolf/Boelie and Tonny/Dé Kessler were cousins.
Unofficially, there may have been one more pair of (twin) brothers playing for the Netherlands. See the story on the Hörburger twins.
In addition, Dutch international Jonathan de Guzman has an older brother, Julian, who is the former record cap holder for Canada.
Pairs listed according to aggregate number of caps; brother pairs who played at least one match together listed in bold; twin pairs listed in italics. Oldest brother listed first.
Name First Last Caps Goals
1.Ronald/Frank DE BOER 26- 9-1990 26- 6-2004 179 26
Ronald DE BOER 24- 3-1993 2- 4-2003 67 13
Frank DE BOER 26- 9-1990 26- 6-2004 112 13
2.Willy/René VAN DE KERKHOF 28- 3-1973 16-10-1985 110 10
Willy VAN DE KERKHOF 5- 6-1974 16-10-1985 63 5
René VAN DE KERKHOF 28- 3-1973 22- 9-1982 47 5
3.Erwin/Ronald KOEMAN 27- 4-1983 19- 1-1994 109 16
Erwin KOEMAN 27- 4-1983 19- 1-1994 31 2
Ronald KOEMAN 27- 4-1983 9- 7-1994 78 14
4.Rob/Richard WITSCHGE 4- 1-1989 2- 9-2000 61 4
Rob WITSCHGE 4- 1-1989 22- 2-1995 30 3
Richard WITSCHGE 21- 2-1990 2- 9-2000 31 1
5.Siem/Luuk DE JONG 11- 8-2010 9-12-2022 45 * 10
Siem DE JONG 11- 8-2010 19-11-2013 6 * 2
Luuk DE JONG 9- 2-2011 9-12-2022 39 * 8
6.Jaap/Bas PAAUWE 29- 3-1931 27-11-1946 39 1
Jaap PAAUWE 29- 3-1931 29- 5-1932 8 0
Bas PAAUWE 8- 5-1932 27-11-1946 31 1
7.Gerard/Wim TAP 25-10-1925 3- 5-1931 34 17
Gerard TAP 2-12-1928 2-12-1928 1 0
Wim TAP 25-10-1925 3- 5-1931 33 17
8.Gerrie/Arnold MÜHREN 5-11-1969 25- 6-1988 33 3
Gerrie MÜHREN 5-11-1969 18-11-1973 10 0
Arnold MÜHREN 5- 4-1978 25- 6-1988 23 3
9.Tonny/Dé KESSLER 21-12-1907 7- 5-1922 24 10
Tonny KESSLER 21-12-1907 24- 3-1913 3 1
Dé KESSLER 21- 3-1909 7- 5-1922 21 9
10.Mannus/Jacques FRANCKEN 29- 4-1906 15- 3-1914 23 18
Mannus FRANCKEN 29- 4-1906 15- 3-1914 22 17
Jacques FRANCKEN 15- 3-1914 15- 3-1914 1 1
11.Johnny/Edward METGOD 15-11-1978 16- 2-1983 22 4
Johnny METGOD 15-11-1978 16- 2-1983 21 4
Edward METGOD 10-11-1982 10-11-1982 K 1 0
12.Jan/Leo HALLE 2-12-1928 31-10-1937 17 0
Jan HALLE 17- 3-1929 5- 5-1929 2 0
Leo HALLE 2-12-1928 31-10-1937 K 15 0
13.Wim/Cor VAN DER GIJP 7- 3-1954 22-10-1961 14 6
Wim VAN DER GIJP 30- 5-1954 30- 5-1954 1 0
Cor VAN DER GIJP 7- 3-1954 22-10-1961 13 6
14.Wout/David BUITENWEG 15-11-1913 30- 5-1928 12 14
Wout BUITENWEG 15-11-1913 30- 5-1928 11 14
David BUITENWEG 8- 5-1921 8- 5-1921 1 0
15.Dolf/Boelie KESSLER 30- 4-1905 19-11-1922 12 3
Dolf KESSLER 30- 4-1905 29- 4-1906 3 1
Boelie KESSLER 9- 6-1919 19-11-1922 9 2
16.Max/Hans TETZNER 12- 6-1921 3- 5-1925 11 0
Max TETZNER 12- 6-1921 26- 3-1922 3 0
Hans TETZNER 25-11-1923 3- 5-1925 8 0
17.Evert/Jaap BULDER 28- 8-1920 2- 4-1923 7 6
Evert BULDER 5- 9-1920 5- 9-1920 1 0
Jaap BULDER 28- 8-1920 2- 4-1923 6 6
18.Collins/Ola JOHN 18- 8-2004 6- 2-2013 3 * 0
Collins JOHN 18- 8-2004 3- 9-2004 2 0
Ola JOHN 6- 2-2013 6- 2-2013 1 * 0
-.Arnold/Anton HÖRBURGER n/a n/a 0 0
Arnold HÖRBURGER 10- 4-1910 24- 3-1912 8 0
Anton HÖRBURGER n/a n/a 0 0
Note: * indicates the player is still active, at least at club level.
K indicates goal keeper
Brother pairs who played at least one match together for Oranje, ranked according to number of shared caps. Twin brothers in bold. Brother with most caps listed first.
Name First Last Caps Goals
1.Frank/Ronald DE BOER 24- 3-1993 2- 4-2003 56 18
2.Willy/René VAN DE KERKHOF 5- 6-1974 22- 9-1982 33 7
3.Ronald/Erwin KOEMAN 27- 4-1983 19- 1-1994 26 7
4.Mannus/Jacques FRANCKEN 15- 3-1914 15- 3-1914 1 1
Dé/Tonny KESSLER 24- 3-1913 24- 3-1913 1 0
Wim/Gerard TAP 2-12-1928 2-12-1928 1 2
Richard/Rob WITSCHGE 25- 3-1992 25- 3-1992 1 0
Note: * indicates players are still active, at least at club level.
Below all 116 Oranje matches featuring a pair of brothers are listed. Three matches (63-65) featured two brother pairs (Koeman and De Boer). In two matches, both World Cup qualifiers, both brothers scored one goal each (number 52, featuring the two Koeman brothers, and number 82, featuring the De Boer twins).
Rumour has it that the twin pair of Arnold and Anton Hörburger also played (illegally) in the same match, although (of course) not simultaneously.
Cap Goals Date Venue Opponent Score Competition
Arnold and Anton Hörburger
0 10- 4-10 Haarlem Belgium 7-0
Tonny and Dé Kessler
TK DK T
1 24- 3-13 Den Haag England (Am.) 2-1
Jacques and Mannus Francken
JF MF T
2 1 1 15- 3-14 Antwerpen Belgium 4-2
Wim and Gerard Tap
GT WT T
3 2 2 2-12-28 Milano Italy 2-3
René and Willy van de Kerkhof
RK WK T
4 5- 6-74 Rotterdam Romania 0-0
5 22-11-75 Roma Italy 0-1 European Champ. Qual.
6 1 1 19- 6-76 Zagreb Yugoslavia 3-2 aet European Championship
7 8- 9-76 Reykjavík Iceland 1-0 World Cup Qualifier
8 13-10-76 Rotterdam N. Ireland 2-2 World Cup Qualifier
9 31- 8-77 Nijmegen Iceland 4-1 World Cup Qualifier
10 5-10-77 Rotterdam Soviet Union 0-0
11 1 1 12-10-77 Belfast N. Ireland 1-0 World Cup Qualifier
12 1 1 26-10-77 Amsterdam Belgium 1-0 World Cup Qualifier
13 22- 2-78 Tel-Aviv Israel 2-1
14 20- 5-78 Wien Austria 1-0
15 3- 6-78 Mendoza Iran 3-0 World Cup
16 7- 6-78 Mendoza Peru 0-0 World Cup
17 11- 6-78 Mendoza Scotland 2-3 World Cup
18 1 1 14- 6-78 Córdoba Austria 5-1 World Cup
19 1 1 18- 6-78 Córdoba West Germany 2-2 World Cup
20 21- 6-78 Buenos Aires Italy 2-1 World Cup
21 25- 6-78 Buenos Aires Argentina 1-3 aet World Cup
22 24- 2-79 Milano Italy 0-3
23 28- 3-79 Eindhoven Switzerland 3-0 European Champ. Qual.
24 2- 5-79 Chorzów Poland 0-2 European Champ. Qual.
25 1 1 5- 9-79 Reykjavík Iceland 4-0 European Champ. Qual.
26 26- 9-79 Rotterdam Belgium 1-0
27 26- 3-80 Paris France 0-0
28 11- 6-80 Napoli Greece 1-0 European Championship
29 1 1 14- 6-80 Napoli West Germany 2-3 European Championship
30 17- 6-80 Milano Czechoslovakia 1-1 European Championship
31 19-11-80 Brussel Belgium 0-1 World Cup Qualifier
32 30-12-80 Montevideo Uruguay 0-2 Mundialito
33 6- 1-81 Montevideo Italy 1-1 Mundialito
34 25- 3-81 Rotterdam France 1-0 World Cup Qualifier
35 1- 9-81 Zürich Switzerland 1-2
36 22- 9-82 Rotterdam Ireland 2-1 European Champ. Qual.
Erwin and Ronald Koeman
EK RK T
37 27- 4-83 Utrecht Sweden 0-3
38 1 1 7- 9-83 Groningen Iceland 3-0 European Champ. Qual.
39 16-11-83 Rotterdam Spain 2-1 European Champ. Qual.
40 17-12-83 Rotterdam Malta 5-0 European Champ. Qual.
41 10- 9-86 Praha Czechoslovakia 0-1
42 1- 6-88 Amsterdam Romania 2-0
43 15- 6-88 Düsseldorf England 3-1 European Championship
44 18- 6-88 Gelsenkirchen Ireland 1-0 European Championship
45 1 1 21- 6-88 Hamburg West Germany 2-1 European Championship
46 25- 6-88 München Soviet Union 2-0 European Championship
47 14- 9-88 Amsterdam Wales 1-0 World Cup Qualifier
48 19-10-88 München West Germany 0-0 World Cup Qualifier
49 4- 1-89 Tel-Aviv Israel 2-0
50 26- 4-89 Rotterdam West Germany 1-1 World Cup Qualifier
51 31- 5-89 Helsinki Finland 1-0 World Cup Qualifier
52 1 1 2 15-11-89 Rotterdam Finland 3-0 World Cup Qualifier
53 21- 2-90 Rotterdam Italy 0-0
54 1 1 30- 5-90 Wien Austria 2-3
55 3- 6-90 Zagreb Yugoslavia 2-0
56 12- 6-90 Palermo Egypt 1-1 World Cup
57 16-10-91 Rotterdam Portugal 1-0 European Champ. Qual.
58 4-12-91 Thessaloniki Greece 2-0 European Champ. Qual.
59 12- 2-92 Faro Portugal 0-2
Rob and Richard Witschge
Ro Ri T
60 25- 3-92 Amsterdam Yugoslavia 2-0
Frank and Ronald de Boer
FB RB T
61 1 1 24- 3-93 Utrecht San Marino 6-0 World Cup Qualifier
62 1 1 22- 9-93 Bologna San Marino 7-0 World Cup Qualifier
Erwin and Ronald Koeman/Ronald and Frank de Boer
E/F R/R T
63k 1 1 13-10-93 Rotterdam England 2-0 World Cup Qualifier
64k 1 1 17-11-93 Poznan Poland 3-1 World Cup Qualifier
65b 1 1 19- 1-94 Tunis Tunisia 2-2
NB: k denotes (Ronald) Koeman scored, b denotes (Ronald) De Boer scored
Frank and Ronald de Boer
FB RB T
66 20- 4-94 Tilburg Ireland 0-1
67 27- 5-94 Utrecht Scotland 3-1
68 1- 6-94 Eindhoven Hungary 7-1
69 12- 6-94 Toronto Canada 3-0
70 20- 6-94 Washington Saudi Arabia 2-1 World Cup
71 25- 6-94 Orlando Belgium 0-1 World Cup
72 2 2 7- 9-94 Luxembourg Luxembourg 4-0 European Champ. Qual.
73 12-10-94 Oslo Norway 1-1 European Champ. Qual.
74 1 1 14-12-94 Rotterdam Luxembourg 5-0 European Champ. Qual.
75 29- 3-95 Rotterdam Malta 4-0 European Champ. Qual.
76 26- 4-95 Praha Czech Republic 1-3 European Champ. Qual.
77 6- 9-95 Rotterdam Belarus 1-0 European Champ. Qual.
78 11-10-95 Rabat Ta'Qali Malta 4-0 European Champ. Qual.
79 15-11-95 Rotterdam Norway 3-0 European Champ. Qual.
80 1 1 31- 8-96 Amsterdam Brazil 2-2
81 1 1 5-10-96 Cardiff Wales 3-1 World Cup Qualifier
82 1 1 2 9-11-96 Eindhoven Wales 7-1 World Cup Qualifier
83 14-12-96 Brussel Belgium 3-0 World Cup Qualifier
84 26- 2-97 Paris France 1-2
85 2- 4-97 Bursa Turkey 0-1 World Cup Qualifier
86 1 1 30- 4-97 Serravalle San Marino 6-0 World Cup Qualifier
87 6- 9-97 Rotterdam Belgium 3-1 World Cup Qualifier
88 1 1 21- 2-98 Miami United States 2-0
89 24- 2-98 Miami Mexico 3-2
90 27- 5-98 Arnhem Cameroon 0-0
91 1 1 1- 6-98 Eindhoven Paraguay 5-1
92 5- 6-98 Amsterdam Nigeria 5-1
93 13- 6-98 Paris Belgium 0-0 World Cup
94 1 1 20- 6-98 Marseille South Korea 5-0 World Cup
95 1 1 25- 6-98 Saint-Etienne Mexico 2-2 World Cup
96 29- 6-98 Toulouse Yugoslavia 2-1 World Cup
97 4- 7-98 Marseille Argentina 2-1 World Cup
98 7- 7-98 Marseille Brazil 1-1 [1] World Cup
99 10-10-98 Eindhoven Peru 2-0
100 13-10-98 Arnhem Ghana 0-0
101 10- 2-99 Paris Portugal 0-0
102 5- 6-99 Salvador Brazil 2-2
103 8- 6-99 Goiânia Brazil 1-3
104 18- 8-99 København Denmark 0-0
105 4- 9-99 Rotterdam Belgium 5-5
106 13-11-99 Eindhoven Czech Republic 1-1
107 1 1 4- 6-00 Lausanne Poland 3-1
108 1 1 11- 6-00 Amsterdam Czech Republic 1-0 European Championship
109 1 1 16- 6-00 Rotterdam Denmark 3-0 European Championship
110 25- 6-00 Rotterdam Yugoslavia 6-1 European Championship
111 2- 9-00 Amsterdam Ireland 2-2 World Cup Qualifier
112 7-10-00 Lefkosia Cyprus 4-0 World Cup Qualifier
113 10-11-01 København Denmark 1-1
114 13- 2-02 Amsterdam England 1-1
115 16-10-02 Wien Austria 3-0 European Champ. Qual.
116 2- 4-03 Tiraspol Moldova 2-1 European Champ. Qual.
[1] Netherlands lost 2-4 on penalties
Note that 89 matches (4-36 and 61-116) featured a pair of twin brothers
(and the match numbered 0 at the top of the list may have done so too).
Types of Matches and Goals (Brother Pairs)
Goals Matches
Friendlies 9 44
World Cup 4 16
World Cup Qualifier 12 26
European Championship 5 11
European Champ. Qual. 5 20
Mundialito - 2
Total 35 119
NB: 3 matches (63-65) counted 'twice' under matches because they
featured both the Koeman brothers and the De Boer twins; two
of these matches were World Cup qualifiers, one a friendly.
Types of Matches and Goals (Twin Pairs)
Goals Matches
Friendlies 4 31
World Cup 4 15
World Cup Qualifier 9 19
European Championship 4 7
European Champ. Qual. 4 15
Mundialito - 2
Total 25 89
Record International Players - Netherlands
Information up to date at June 30, 2023, when exactly 798 players had won at least one official cap for the Netherlands
Prepared and maintained by Karel Stokkermans for the Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation
Author: Karel Stokkermans
(karel.rsssf@gmail.com)
Last updated: 16 Jul 2023
(C) Copyright Karel Stokkermans and RSSSF 2008/23
You are free to copy this document in whole or part provided that proper
acknowledgement is given to the author. All rights reserved.