16 August 2006, Emanuelson made his debut for the Netherlands senior team in a friendly match against the Republic of Ireland, as they won 4–0. He made three more appearances for the national side by the end of the year. The following year, Emanuelson helped Netherlands’ defence kept two consecutive clean sheets between 24 March 2007 and 28 March 2007 against Romania and Slovenia. In a match against Albania on 12 September 2007, he set up a goal for Ruud van Nistelrooy to score the only goal of the game, winning 1–0. Emanuelson then played the last 13 minutes of the game against Luxembourg on 17 November 2007, as the national side won 1–0 to qualify for the UEFA Euro 2008. Despite playing for the Netherlands occasionally during the qualifiers for UEFA Euro 2008, he was not selected in the final squad that would participate in the tournament itself. Although Emanuelson hasn't been called up to the national team for two years, he hope his performance would earn him a spot in the World Cup. However, he never made the cut. On 28 July 2010 Emanuelson was called up to the Netherlands squad for the first time in two years. He made his first appearances in two years, starting the whole game, in a 1–1 draw against Ukraine on 11 August 2010. His next appearances for the national side came on 29 March 2011 against Hungary, coming on as a 64th-minute substitute, in a 3–2 win. On 24 February 2012 Emanuelson was called to the Netherlands squad. His next appearance came five days later against England, coming on as a 76th-minute substitute, in a 3–2. He later made two more appearances by the end of the year. Career statistics Club International Personal life Emanuelson comes from a football-playing family. His father Errol Emanuelson was a professional footballer who played for S.V. Robinhood in Suriname and Sint-Niklaas in Belgium before settling in Amsterdam. His older brother Julian Emanuelson, also a product of the Ajax Youth Academy, played professionally for HFC Haarlem, and for Lustenau in Austria. His sister Sharifa Emanuelson, a former basketball player, and his cousin Roché Emanuelson has played for various clubs in the SVB Hoofdklasse and for the Suriname national team. His maternal cousin is Hertha BSC midfielder Jean-Paul Boëtius. Emanuelson said he grew up idolising Clarence Seedorf and played together with him against England on 15 November