Netherlands is another top-notch nation which has vied for the prestigious World cup trophy over the years but to no avail. Nicknamed Oranje Holland, the 1988 European champions made it to this year’s World cup in Qatar with a 2-0 win over Norway in November 2021. It is a return to the World cup for the Dutchmen after missing the 2018 edition in Russia.
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The Netherlands have always posed as favourites in virtually every international tournament they have had to participate in but their trophy is arguably the only major factor that saddens them.
On their own continent, they have made it to five semi-finals out of ten appearances but it is only on one occasion they succeeded to proceed further and eventually win it. In 1988, Netherlands found themselves in group 2 of the UEFA European Championship held in West Germany and managed to finish second behind The Soviet Union. In the Semi-finals, goals from Ronald Koeman and Marco Van Basten snatched a win from West Germany after the host had gone in front through a spot kick from Lothar Matthaus on the 55th minute mark. The flying Dutchmen eventually succeeded in staging a revenge against the Soviet Union in the finals where Ruud Gullit and Marco Van Basten both scored to secure a 2-0 victory.
The Netherlands have never won the World Cup, but it is always intriguing to hear their story. Out of their ten previous appearances, they have never been eliminated in the group stages of the competition. In 50% of their appearances at the World cup, Oranje Holland have made it to the semi-finals. In three of those attempts, they made it to the final but failed to clinch the trophy.
In 1974, the Netherlands made their way to the final of the World cup for the first by scoring 14 goals and conceding just one in a campaign which saw them win five matches with just a single draw. Meanwhile West Germany legend Gerd Muller had to end the dream of the Dutchmen in the final with a 43rd minute goal after a Paul Breitner penalty cancelled out Johan Neeskens’ goal in the first half.
The flying Dutchmen claimed to have had unfinished business in the tournament after they managed to reach 1978 final in a more difficult way than their previous exploits. Netherlands qualified from the first round by finishing second in Group 4 at the expense of Scotland with a 3-goal difference. In the second round, Netherlands walloped Austria by 5-1 and drew 2-2 with West Germany before beating Italy by 2-1. Unfortunately, history had to repeat itself through Argentina’s 3-1 win over the Netherlands in the final at the Estadio Monumental in Argentina.
Having won back-to-back Silver medals in 1974 and 1978, Orange Holland had to wait for 32 more years to match their best result. That feat had to be recorded on African soil when South Africa hosted the competition on behalf of Africa for the first time in 2010. Netherlands topped Group B after beating all three opponents. Subsequently, they recorded two successive 2-1 victories over Slovakia and Brazil in the Round of 16 and quarter-finals respectively. They went a further step by denying two-time champions Uruguay, in the semi-finals before giving up to Spain in the final.
The Netherlands have proven to be a hub of football talent from generation to generation. Johan Neeskens, Johan Cruyff, Marco Van Basten, Ronald Koeman, Ruud Gullit, Dennis Bergkamp, Frank Rijkaard are just a few of the big names Netherlands produced. Others would include, Arjeen Robben, Robin Van Persie, Wesley Sneijder, and Klaas Jan Huntelaar who were keenly involved in the 2010 campaign. Now, attention would be tilted to the likes of Virgil Van Dijk, Matthijs de Ligt, Memphis Depay, Frenkie de Jong, Stefan de Vrij and many other new but promising names to march the nation to success.
21 November 2022 Senegal v Netherlands Doha, Qatar
25 November 2022 Netherlands v Ecuador Al Rayyan, Qatar
29 November 2022 Netherlands v Qatar Al Khor, Qatar
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Name: Memphis Depay
Age: 28
Memphis Depay after winning his first senior cap for Netherlands has carried goals almost everywhere he went. The former Lyon attacker has over 115 goals for PSV Eindhoven, Olympique Lyonnais and Barcelona in over 250 appearances. With 42 goals the Barcelona forward is just eight goals away from reaching Robin Van Persie’s record of all-time top scorer for Netherlands.
Name: Virgil Van Dijk
Age: 31
The Netherlands captain won Premier League Player of the Season, UEFA Men’s Player of the Year Award and UEFA Champions League Defender of the Season all at the end of the 2018–19 season. He has also been in the UEFA Team of the Year three successive times: 2018, 2019, and 2020. The Liverpool defender has obviously seen it all at club level and would love to taste national success with his team as well. He was close when Portugal denied Orange the UEFA Nations League in the 2018-2019 edition.
Name: Frenkie de Jong
Age: 25
Frenkie may not score too many goals as a midfielder but his role to make more of that happen cannot go unnoticed. He keeps the ball in possession, dictates the pace of the game and orchestrates the flow for his side. This style of play is what got him a big money move from Ajax to Barcelona after winning several honours both individually and collectively. The Dutch midfielder won the UEFA Champions League Midfielder of the Season and the Johan Cruyff Trophy at the end of 2018–19. He was also in the UEFA Champions League Squad of the Season: 2018–19. With the national team, de Jong won the UEFA Nations League Finals Young Player of the Tournament and was also named the team of the Tournament in 2019.
Head coach: Louis van Gaal
Age: 71
Arguably the most experienced manager as far as Qatar 2022 is concerned. Louis van Gaal is leading the Netherlands for the third time after previous stints in 2000–2002 and 2012–2014. He has also managed a chunk of the big teams in Europe and recorded some success as well.
At Ajax, he won eight major trophies including the UEFA champions’ league in the 1994-95 season. He won trophies with Barcelona, Bayern Munich and even AZ as well. What is left with Van Gaal to do is replicate his success at the national level. He was close when he led Netherlands to a third-place finish in the 2014 World cup.
WORLD CUP MATCHES
21 November 2022 Senegal v Netherlands Doha, Qatar
25 November 2022 Netherlands v Ecuador Al Rayyan, Qatar
29 November 2022 Netherlands v Qatar Al Khor, Qatar
Appearances so far: 10
Best Results: Runners-up in 1974, 1978 and 2010
Worst performance: Round of 16 in 1934, 1938, 1990 and 2006.
Most capped player: Wesley Sneijder with 134 appearances
Captain: Virgil Van Dijk
Top scorer: Robin Van Persie with 50 goals in 102 appearances
