The 49-year-old, who scored 35 goals in 70 caps for the Dutch, will be assistant to manager Ronald Koeman as the Oranje prepare their World Cup bid.

"Returning to this role with the Dutch and representing the Netherlands with this staff and talented group of players is a huge honour and a wonderful challenge for me," said the former striker who coached Leicester in the English Premier League last season.

Koeman said he was looking forward to drawing on van Nistelrooy's "valuable tournament experience, both as a player and as a coach".

The Dutch sailed through their qualifying group unbeaten, the only blemish being draws home and away against Poland.

Their group opponents in the World Cup will be Japan, Tunisia and whoever gets through from Poland, Ukraine, Sweden, and Albania.

At the 2022 edition, the Netherlands lost on penalties in the quarter-finals to Lionel Messi's Argentina after an ill-tempered encounter in Qatar.