Donyell Malen Targets World Cup Main Prize on Men's Health Cover

Donyell Malen is on the cover of Men's Health this month, and the AS Roma forward says he wants to be important, score goals and go for the main prize at the World Cup. For Oranje, that puts his current form and his place in the striker race back at the center of the picture.

Malen And Memphis Depay

The striker battle appears to be between Malen and Memphis Depay, with Depay not completely fit. Malen seems likely to get the chance to play as the central striker against Japan, which gives him a direct opening to press his case before the World Cup picture tightens.

He said wearing the Oranje shirt still gives him a special feeling. “Het is iets waar je als jongetje van droomt. Dat geeft altijd een trots gevoel.”

World Cup Dream Returns

Malen’s World Cup path has already taken a hard turn once. He was not in the squad for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar after a poor run of form and an injury blocked his dream, and he said, “Dat was een teleurstelling, maar achteraf ben ik er blij mee. Ik geloof in het lot. Als het niet zo is, dan moet het niet zo zijn. Op dat moment was ik er ook niet klaar voor.”

That absence sits in the background of this moment. He has played more than fifty international matches and appeared in two European Championships, but had never previously appeared at the main global tournament, and he said he first dreamed about the World Cup from the age of eleven.

Oranje's Opening

His first World Cup memory goes back to 2010 in South Africa, when the Netherlands reached the final. That memory now sits next to a more immediate reality: he is in strong form heading toward the tournament, and this month’s cover spot arrives as the striker job looks open enough for him to push through.

“Die WK-droom was toen nog ver weg. Nu is het toernooi dichtbij. Ik wil belangrijk zijn, goals maken en gaan voor de hoofdprijs. Ik ben zo excited.”