Elimination of the Netherlands continues a long drought of goals for Corinthians players in World Cups
- By Mirella Ramos / Central do Timão Editorial
The elimination of the Netherlands by Morocco, on penalties, in the round of 32 stage of the 2026 World Cup, maintained a long taboo involving Corinthians players in the main national team tournament. With the collapse of Memphis Depay's team, the club has not seen an athlete who played for Timão score a goal in a World Cup 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 victory over Serbia, on June 16, 2006, in the second round of the group stage. Since then, no athlete linked 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 arrange his transfer to West Ham, from England. The negotiation was conducted 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 Brazilian squad, but neither scored goals during the competition played in Russia.
In 2026, Memphis Depay represented Corinthians in the World Cup wearing the Netherlands shirt. The striker arrived at the tournament still recovering from a grade 2 injury to the anterior muscle of his right thigh, suffered in March, and had limited participation throughout the Dutch campaign.
In total, the number 10 played 51 minutes in the competition and contributed one assist. In his debut against Japan, he came on during the second half in the match that ended in a 2-2 draw. In the following match, against Sweden, he participated in the 5-1 victory and provided the pass for the goal scored by Summerville. In the 3-1 victory over Tunisia, he returned to the final stage, but did not directly participate in the team's goals. In the knockout duel against Morocco, Memphis remained on the bench throughout the match.
Even with the elimination of the Dutch team, Corinthians will benefit financially from the FIFA Club Benefits Program. For Memphis' participation during the competition, the club guaranteed another 20 thousand dollars, approximately R$ 103 thousand at the current price.
Adding up all stages of the Netherlands' campaign, Timão accumulated around 80 thousand dollars, a value close to R$ 415 thousand, referring to the period in which the striker was available to the team during the World Cup. Corinthians should still receive an additional amount for the Netherlands' preparation period before the start of the tournament, as Memphis presented himself to the national team on May 30th. This amount can reach approximately 75 thousand dollars, approximately R$ 389 thousand.
Now, the Dutch striker must return to Corinthians for the remainder of the season after the vacation period granted by the club. In the re-presentation, Memphis will once again join the work of the team led by Fernando Diniz, while negotiations are also ongoing for a possible contract renewal. The number 10's current contract with Timão is valid until July 31st.
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Source: Timao Central