 On 7 May 2012, he was named in the provisional list of 36 players for the UEFA Euro 2012 tournament by van Marwijk.On 2 June 2012 he scored his first international goal with a header from a corner kick by Ibrahim Afellay, the last goal in a 6–0 friendly win over Northern Ireland.In the World Cup 2014 Vlaar played all seven matches, in which he received much credit for leading the defence.