Oranje.The Dutch national team · 2013–present

Memphis was born on 13 February 1994 in Moordrecht, a small village in South Holland. His father left when he was four. His mother Cora and his grandfather were there for him. It was his grandfather who advised him to choose PSV. He passed away the day before Memphis turned fifteen. Memphis still carries him with him, as a tattoo on his skin.

In the Netherlands youth teams, he soon showed what he could do. In May 2011 he stood with Oranje's Under-17s in the European Championship final in Serbia. The Netherlands fell behind against Germany, but it finished 5–2. Memphis scored, delivered a cross that led to another goal, and became a European champion.

On 15 October 2013, the moment arrived. Louis van Gaal brought him on in the final minute against Turkey: his debut for the Dutch national team, aged nineteen. Six months later, Van Gaal took him to the World Cup in Brazil. In Porto Alegre, against Australia, he first set up Robin van Persie's equaliser and then fired home the 3–2 himself. At twenty years and four months, he became the youngest Dutchman ever to score at a World Cup. Five days later he was on target against Chile too. That summer, Oranje won the bronze.

From there he grew into the man Oranje built around. In 2021 he scored seventeen times in a single calendar year, a record previously held by Patrick Kluivert with twelve goals. Against Turkey in Amsterdam, he scored his first hat-trick in the orange shirt. At that summer's European Championship he scored against Austria and North Macedonia, and in qualifying for the World Cup in Qatar he was unstoppable.

In Qatar, on 3 December 2022, he opened the scoring in the round of 16 against the United States. Oranje won 3–1, and with 43 goals Memphis became number two on the all-time list. At Euro 2024 in Germany he scored against Austria in Berlin, and Oranje reached the semi-finals.

Then came 2025, the year of history. In March, in Valencia against Spain, he played his hundredth international, and he scored. On 10 June, in Groningen against Malta, he scored his 50th goal: he stood level with Robin van Persie. On 7 September, in Kaunas against Lithuania, he tapped in a cross from Cody Gakpo in the eleventh minute. Goal 51. He did not run to the crowd, but to head coach Ronald Koeman, embracing him in gratitude for his faith. Later that evening, he also scored the 3–2 winner.

In the summer of 2026 he played his third World Cup. In Houston he came off the bench against Sweden and provided the assist for the 5–1. Oranje won the group. Today the tally stands at 112 caps and 55 goals. Memphis, the heart of a lion, the finest goalscorer Oranje has ever had.