Salomon Kalou is almost certain to watch the World Cup from home after his appeal for citizenship was rejected.
The Netherlands' highest administrative court threw out his appeal for a fast-track Dutch passport on Tuesday.
Kalou has already turned down an offer to play for his native Ivory Coast because he hoped to turn out for the Netherlands.
The Feyenoord striker's only chance of appearing in Germany is to reconsider playing for the Elephants, which his lawyer said "in theory" he could do.
A judge at the Council of State in Amsterdam said there were no "special grounds" to grant citizenship to Kalou, who scored 20 goals in this season's Dutch league.
His lawyer had appealed to the Council of State after government immigration minister Rita Verdonk rejected Kalou's request for fast-track citizenship.
She argued that the player must pass a mandatory citizenship test - part of measures intended to force immigrants to demonstrate a willingness to integrate.
Kalou could take the first part of the test as early as Wednesday at the earliest, five days before coach Marco Van Basten announces his final World Cup squad.
He would then be required to take another part, which cannot be done for several weeks.
It was not immediately clear if he intended to sit for the exam, which he previously failed in November 2005.
Kalou's brother, Bonaventure, is a key player for the Ivory Coast, which is in the same World Cup group as the Netherlands, Argentina and Serbia-Montenegro.