International

When Marco Van Basten took over as coach of the Dutch national team he dropped many established players, including strikers Roy Makaay and Patrick Kluivert. Kuyt was to benefit as in September 2004 he made his international debut in Van Basten's first game against Liechtenstein. He has been a permanent fixture in the Dutch squad ever since, making the starting line-up for eleven of the Netherlands' twelve 2006 World Cup qualification matches.
At the World Cup finals Kuyt found himself relegated to the substitutes bench. Although he made an appearance as a 69th minute replacement in the first game against Serbia and Montenegro, he sat the entire second game out. With the team already qualified for the next round Van Basten decided to rest many of his first choice players for the final group game against Argentina, and Kuyt was handed a start in the right wing position.
For the Netherlands' Round of 16 tie against Portugal Kuyt was given a surprise start ahead of star-striker Ruud van Nistelrooy. However, Kuyt didn't have a successful game and the Netherlands eventually lost 1-0.