Kees Smit

Kees Smit is a central midfielder whose threat comes from combining a carry with the next action. After beating a marker, he can move into a new pocket for a return pass or draw a defender away from a teammate. UEFA's observers highlighted his dribbling, creativity and movement during the 2025 Under-19 European Championship.

Smit joined AZ's academy from De Foresters in 2015 and moved through its youth teams before making his professional debut for Jong AZ in January 2023. That spring he was part of AZ's UEFA Youth League winning squad. In a round-of-16 win at Barcelona, he scored from around the halfway line: an eye-catching moment, though a single long shot does not define his midfield game.

His first-team debut came in March 2024, when he entered AZ's Eredivisie match against Excelsior as a substitute. He scored his first official senior AZ goal against Fenerbahçe in the Europa League that November, also from the bench. Those milestones trace his move from academy football into domestic and European senior matches.

With the Netherlands Under-19s in 2025, Smit scored in each of the four wins that took the side to the European final and played in the 1-0 victory over Spain. The title belonged to the team; UEFA separately named him Player of the Tournament and joint-top scorer at the finals. Its observers also selected him in their tournament team, highlighting his ability to find space as well as work with the ball.

In the 2025/26 Conference League, his contribution shifted towards making chances for others. UEFA credited him with five assists in ten matches as AZ reached the quarter-finals, then gave him its Revelation of the Season award and a place in its Team of the Season. These were individual distinctions for that European campaign. In April 2026, he also scored as AZ won the Dutch Cup final against NEC; that was a team title.

Smit made his senior Netherlands debut as a starter in a March 2026 friendly against Norway. He played seventy minutes and later spoke candidly about adjusting his defensive positioning and decisions on the ball to that level. The account tempers the highlight-reel picture: reading pressure and space remains part of his development. In May 2026 he was left out of Ronald Koeman's 26-man Netherlands squad for the World Cup.