The 49-year-old will be assistant to manager Ronald Koeman as the Oranje prepare their World Cup bid, a competition the country have never won in history despite having so many iconic players over the years.
He will work alongside Erwin Koeman and Wim Jonk in what will be a tough tournament for the national side who are far from favourites when compared to the likes of France, Argentina, Spain and England.
The Netherlands sailed through their qualifying group unbeaten and will face Japan, Tunisia and whoever gets through from Poland, Ukraine, Sweden, and Albania in the group stage.
Koeman said he was looking forward to drawing on van Nistelrooy's "valuable tournament experience, both as a player and as a coach".
The decision was announced on Friday morning in what is a huge move for the national side who will be seeking to reach the final much like they did in 2010 before losing to Spain.
"Returning to this role with the Dutch and representing the Netherlands with this staff and talented group of players is a huge honour and a wonderful challenge for me,"
Koeman's side are set to open with a game against Japan on 14th June in Texas in what will be blazing heat that the two sides will have to get used to.