Netherlands national football team

Netherlands
Nickname(s) Clockwork Orange
Holland
Oranje
The Flying Dutchmen
Association Koninklijke Nederlandse Voetbalbond — KNVB
Confederation UEFA (Europe)
Head coach Bert van Marwijk
Captain Mark van Bommel
Most caps Edwin van der Sar (130)
Top scorer Patrick Kluivert (40)
Home stadium Amsterdam Arena
De Kuip
Philips Stadion
FIFA code NED
FIFA ranking 2 [1]
Highest FIFA ranking 1 [2] (August 2011-September 2011)
Lowest FIFA ranking 25 (May 1998)
Elo ranking 3
Highest Elo ranking 1 (Mar 1911 – Mar 1912, Jun 1912, Aug 1920; Jun 1978, Jun 1988 – Jun 1990, Jun–Sep 1992, Jun 2002, Jun–Sep 2003, Oct 2005, Jun 2008, Jul 2010.)
Lowest Elo ranking 56 (October 1954)
Home colours
Away colours
First international
 Belgium 1–4 Netherlands
(Antwerp, Belgium; 30 April 1905)
Biggest win
Netherlands 11–0 San Marino 
(Eindhoven, Netherlands; 2 September 2011)
Biggest defeat
England Am. 12–2 Netherlands
(Darlington, England; 21 December 1907)[3]
World Cup
Appearances 9 (First in 1934)
Best result Runners-Up, 1974, 1978 and 2010
European Championship
Appearances 8 (First in 1976)
Best result Winners, 1988

The Netherlands National Football Team (Dutch: Nederlands nationaal voetbalelftal) represents the Netherlands in association football and is controlled by the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB), the governing body for football in the Netherlands. The team was first assembled in 1905.

The football team is colloquially referred to as 'Het Nederlands Elftal' (The Dutch Eleven), 'Holland', referring the Netherlands as a whole (although it is actually the name of a smaller region), and 'Oranje', a tribute to the House of Orange-Nassau. The Dutch hold the record for playing the most World Cup finals without ever winning the final. They finished second in the 1974, 1978, and 2010 World Cups, losing to West Germany, Argentina and Spain respectively. They won the European Championship in 1988. At the peak of their success in the 1970s, the team was famous for its mastery of Total Football and was nicknamed Clockwork Orange for its precision passing.

In August 2011, the team was ranked number 1 in the FIFA world rankings, thus becoming the second national football team, after Spain, to top the rankings without previously winning a World Cup. The Netherlands National Football Team remains one of the strongest football teams in Europe and the world.

Contents

History

The Netherlands played their first international match in Antwerp against Belgium on 30 April 1905. The players were selected by a five-member commission from the Dutch football association. After 90 minutes, the score was 1–1, but because the match was for a trophy (the "Coupe van den Abeele"), the game went into extra time, in which Eddy de Neve scored three times, making the score 1–4 for the Dutch side.[4]

The Netherlands made their first appearance at the World Cup final tournament in 1934. After a second appearance in 1938 it took till 1974 before they performed on the highest stage again.

Total Football in the 1970s

The 1970s saw the invention of Total Football (Dutch: Totaalvoetbal), pioneered by Feyenoord and Ajax and led by playmaker Johan Cruyff and national team coach Rinus Michels. The Dutch made huge strides, qualifying for two World Cup finals in the decade. The captain of the Brazilian team that won the 1970 FIFA World Cup, Carlos Alberto, went on to say "The only team I’ve seen that did things differently was Holland at the 1974 World Cup in Germany. Since then everything looks more or less the same to me…. Their ‘carousel’ style of play was amazing to watch and marvellous for the game."[5]

In 1974, the Netherlands beat both Brazil and Argentina in the second group stage, reaching the final for the first time in their history. However, the team lost to West Germany in the final in Munich, despite having gone 1–0 up through Johan Neeskens' early penalty kick before any German had even touched the ball. However, supported by the crowd, a converted penalty by Paul Breitner and the winner from Gerd Müller led to a victory for the Germans.

By comparison, Euro '76 was a disappointment. The Netherlands lost in the semi-finals to Czechoslovakia, as much because of fighting within the squad and the coach George Knobel, as well as the skill of the eventual winners.

In 1978, the Netherlands again reached the final of a World Cup, only to be beaten by the host, this time Argentina. This side played without Johan Cruijff, Willem van Hanegem, and Jan van Beveren, who refused to participate in the World Cup. It still contained Johan Neeskens, Johnny Rep, Arie Haan, Ruud Krol, Wim Jansen, Jan Jongbloed, Wim Suurbier and Rob Rensenbrink from the 1974 selection. The Netherlands were less impressive in the group stages. They qualified as runners-up, after a draw with Peru and a loss to Scotland. In the second group phase, however, the Netherlands topped a group including Italy and West Germany, setting up a final with Argentina. However, the Dutch finished as runners up for the second World Cup in a row as they ultimately lost 3–1 after two extra time goals from Argentina. Unfortunately for the Dutch, Rensenbrink hit the Argentinian post in the last minute of normal time, with the score 1–1.

Failure:1982-86

Euro '80 was the last tournament for which the Total Football qualified, but they did not advance past the group stage, despite the tournament format being expanded that year. Veterans such as Krol and Rensenbrink retired soon afterwards and the Netherlands missed the 1982 World Cup, Euro '84, and the 1986 World Cup in succession. Qualification for Euro 1984 was within reach, but the Dutch ended the campaign on the same number of points as rivals Spain, and the same goal difference (+16). Spain advanced having scored two more goals. The failure to reach the 1986 World Cup was also very close. In a play off with neighbours Belgium, the Netherlands lost 1-0 in Brussels, but were leading 2-0 in the home leg in Rotterdam with a few minutes remaining. Belgium scored to end the tie 2-1, and overall play off 2-2. Belgium advanced on the away goal rule.

European Champions

Rinus Michels returned to coach the team for the Euro '88 tournament. After losing the first group match against the Soviet Union (1–0), the Netherlands went on to qualify for the semi-final by defeating England 3–1 (with a hat-trick by the tournament's top scorer Marco van Basten), and Republic of Ireland (1–0). For many Dutch football supporters, the most important match in the tournament was the semi-final against West Germany, the host country, considered a revenge for the lost 1974 World Cup final (also in West Germany). Marco van Basten, who would later become national team coach, scored in the 89th minute of the game to sink the German side. The game is also remembered for its post-match shenanigans, including Ronald Koeman, who, in front of the German supporters, provocatively pretended to wipe his backside with the shirt of Olaf Thon as if it were toilet paper, an action Koeman later regretted.[6] The Netherlands won the final with a convincing victory over the USSR, a rematch on the round robin game, through a header by Ruud Gullit and a volley by van Basten. This was the national team's first major tournament win and it restored them to the forefront of international football for the next three years after almost a decade in the wilderness.

Despite high expectations as the team entered the 1990 World Cup, the tournament was not a success. Van Basten failed to score, as he was frequently marked by opposing defenders, while Gullit was ineffective having not fully recovered from injury. The Dutch managed to advance despite drawing all three group games, meeting their arch-rivals West Germany in the round of 16. The match is most remembered for the spitting-incident involving Frank Rijkaard and Rudi Völler as the Netherlands lost 2–1.

The team subsequently reached the semi-finals in the Euro '92, which was noted for the emergence of Dennis Bergkamp, but they were eliminated by eventual champions Denmark, with Van Basten's kick in the penalty shootout being saved by Peter Schmeichel. This was to be van Basten's last major tournament as he suffered a serious injury shortly after, eventually conceding defeat and retiring at the age of 30 in 1995.

In the 1994 World Cup, in the absence of the chronically injured van Basten and the striking Gullit, Dennis Bergkamp led the team with three goals and the Netherlands advanced to the quarter-finals, where they lost 3–2 to eventual champions Brazil.

1996–2004

At Euro '96, after drawing 0–0 with Scotland and beating Switzerland 2–0, they faced the hosts England in the pool A decider, with both teams on 4 points. After 62 minutes, with Scotland beating Switzerland 1–0, the Netherlands were 4–0 down and looked like finishing third behind Scotland on goal difference and going out of the tournament, but Patrick Kluivert converted a Dennis Bergkamp assist and scored in the 78th minute to see the Dutch finish second on goals scored. They then played France in the quarter-finals, drawing 0–0 and being eliminated 5–4 on penalties.

In the 1998 World Cup, Netherlands, whose team included Marc Overmars, Phillip Cocu, Edgar Davids, Frank de Boer, Ronald de Boer, and Patrick Kluivert, met Argentina in the quarter-final, a rematch of the 1978 final. Near the end of regular time, after an unsuccessful dive to draw a penalty, Argentinian Ariel Ortega head-butted Edwin van der Sar.[7] Ortega was sent off and the Netherlands won 2–1 after a Bergkamp goal in the 89th minute. Bergkamp's goal was famous because of its quality — he touched down a 60-yard (55 m) pass from Frank de Boer then reverse-flicked it inside Roberto Ayala and finally volleyed it past the Argentine goalkeeper. In the semi-final, the Netherlands took Brazil to a penalty shootout after a late Kluivert goal tied the match 1–1, but Brazil won the shootout 4–2 and advanced to the final. Netherlands lost the third place match 2–1 to upstart Croatia. Soon after the World Cup exit manager Guus Hiddink resigned after two tournaments in charge and was replaced by legendary ex-midfielder Frank Rijkaard.

Netherlands co-hosted Euro 2000 with Belgium and were one of the favourites coming into the tournament. Getting all three wins in the group stage, including a win over reigning World Cup champions France, they then crushed Yugoslavia 6–1 in the quarter-finals, with Kluivert getting a hat-trick. In the semi-finals, their opponents, Italy, went down to ten men in the first half and the Netherlands were awarded two penalty kicks but failed to convert either chance. Italian goalkeeper Francesco Toldo made two saves in the shootout (in addition to his penalty save in regulation time) to eliminate the Netherlands. Dennis Bergkamp, who failed to score during the tournament, retired from the national team after Euro 2000 (partly due to his fear of flying effectively ruling him out from the 2002 World Cup which was to be held in East Asia.) Coach Frank Rijkaard was widely criticized by the press after the defeat to the Italians as the Dutch had squandered several chances to kill the game. Rijkaard resigned, with Louis van Gaal taking over. Van Gaal is credited with initially bringing through the backbone of this Dutch side whilst manager of Ajax durting the mid ninieties, including Edwin van der Sar, Edgar Davids, Michael Reiziger, Clarence Seedorf, Marc Overmars, Patrick Kluivert and the de Boer twins.

Surprisingly the Netherlands failed to qualify for the 2002 World Cup, with crucial losses to Portugal and the Republic of Ireland, the latter of which eliminated them from the Finals tournament. Van Gaal resigned at the conclusion of the Netherlands' unsuccessful campaign.

Dick Advocaat returned to coach the Netherlands for a second time and led the team to the semifinals of Euro 2004 but lost to Portugal and, after receiving criticism for his tactics and player changes, stepped down. This was to be the end for the many of the team's World Cup veterans (mostly made up of the Ajax generation of 1995.) Frank and Ronald de Boer, Edgar Davids, Clarence Seedorf, Marc Overmars, Jaap Stam, and Patrick Kluivert had either retired or were not selected for the upcoming World Cup by new coach Marco van Basten.

2006–2010

The Netherlands qualified for the 2006 World Cup in Germany and finished second in Group C after beating Serbia & Montenegro (1–0) and the Côte d'Ivoire (2–1) and drawing Argentina (0–0). Both Argentina and the Netherlands finished the group stage with seven points, but the Argentinians had a superior goal difference and finished first as a result. The Dutch were eliminated in the second round after losing 1–0 to Portugal, in a match that produced 16 yellow cards (which matched the World Cup record for most cautions in one game set in 2002) and set a new World Cup record of four red cards (two for either side) and was nicknamed "the Battle of Nuremberg" by the press.[8] Despite criticism surrounding his selection policy and the lack of attacking football from his team, Marco van Basten was offered a two-year extension to his contract by the Dutch FA, which would allow him to serve as national coach during Euro 2008 and the 2010 World Cup. The move was widely regarded as a vote of confidence in van Basten and his assistants by the KNVB officials.[9]

The Netherlands began their Euro 2008 campaign with a win in Luxembourg on 2 September 2006. On 8 September 2007, the Oranje beat Bulgaria at the Amsterdam Arena on goals by Wesley Sneijder and Ruud van Nistelrooy. On 12 September 2007, the Netherlands won a hard fought victory against Albania, with van Nistelrooy scoring the winning goal in stoppage time. This win took the Dutch squad into second place in Group G, on par with Romania for points, but behind on goal differential. The Oranje were beaten 1–0 in Romania on 13 October 2007, but four days later, the Netherlands' 2–0 victory over Slovenia, while rivals Bulgaria could only draw in Albania, left the Dutch needing one win from their last two games, at home to Luxembourg and away to Belarus, to qualify for Euro 2008.

The Netherlands played their first game in 2008 against Croatia in Split. The team, without Ruud van Nistelrooy, Robin van Persie, Clarence Seedorf, Orlando Engelaar, and Arjen Robben, won the match 3–0. The first goal was scored by John Heitinga on a header, while Klaas-Jan Huntelaar scored the second goal on an assist from Tim de Cler. The final goal came from Celtic striker Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink. The team used a new formation under Marco van Basten, scrapping the previously used 4–3–3 formation for a 4–2–3–1.

The Dutch team was a participant in the "Group of Death", together with France, Italy, and Romania. They began Euro 2008 with a 3–0 win over World Cup Champion Italy in Bern on 9 June 2008. This was the Netherlands' first victory over Italy since 1978. In their second group match against France on 13 June 2008, the Netherlands won convincingly with a 4–1 score. The Dutch closed out an incredible group stage campaign with a 2–0 win over Romania. However, they lost in the quarter-final to former coach Guus Hiddink's Russia by 3–1, despite a late 86th minute equalizer by Ruud van Nistelrooy.

Under new coach Bert van Marwijk, the Dutch team went on to secure a 100 percent record in their World Cup 2010 qualification campaign, winning all eight games and becoming the first European team to qualify for the World Cup. The World Cup Draw in Cape Town on the 4 December 2009 saw the Dutch being placed alongside Denmark, Cameroon and Japan in Group E. On June 14 the Dutch won 2–0 against Denmark in their opener at the World Cup. On June 19 they then beat Japan 1–0 with a goal from Wesley Sneijder. They were the first team to qualify for the Round of 16 after a 2–1 victory from Denmark over Cameroon. In the first knockout round they faced Slovakia. At the end it was 2–1 victory after goals from Arjen Robben and Wesley Sneijder. The conceded goal came in injury time from a penalty taken by Róbert Vittek. They advanced to the semifinals with a 2–1 victory over the favoured Brazilians on July 2, 2010. Brazil, who had held a 1–0 lead at the half, was the favourite to win the cup, had never lost in 37 World Cup matches (35–0–2) in which they had held a halftime lead. The first Dutch goal was originally ruled an own goal by Felipe Melo, but was later officially changed to a goal by Wesley Sneijder. The second came from a corner kick headed into the net by Wesley Sneijder despite being the shortest player on the field. In the semi-final the Dutch beat Uruguay 3–2 to advance to their first World Cup final since 1978. The Dutch lost the final to Spain with a score of 1–0 after extra time in what was to be Giovanni van Bronckhorst's last match in professional football.

Euro 2012

The Dutch went on after the World Cup tournament and started with the full score of 24 points from 8 matches in the UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying campaign.[10]

In between the qualification matches, the team went on a trip to South America for rematches of the World Cup quarter and semi-finals against Brazil and Uruguay. Although the matches ended in draws, coach Bert van Marwijk saw it as "a good test for his players, to prove they were fit to overcome hostile circumstances also". "It was a very useful experience," Van Marwijk, "We could even have won these two matches and that is a compliment to the players."

On 2 September 2011 the Netherlands defeated San Marino 11–0, their biggest ever victory.[11]

On 6 September 2011, the Dutch defeated Finland 2–0, ensuring a place at the Euro 2012, either as Group E winner or as the best runners-ups.

Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
 Netherlands 10 9 0 1 37 8 +29 27
 Sweden 10 8 0 2 31 11 +20 24
 Hungary 10 6 1 3 22 14 +8 19
 Finland 10 3 1 6 16 16 0 10
 Moldova 10 3 0 7 12 16 −4 9
 San Marino 10 0 0 10 0 53 −53 0

Finals

The draw for the final tournament took place on 2 December 2011 at the Ukraine Palace of Arts in Kiev, Ukraine.[12][13] Netherlands was placed in group B along with Germany, Portugal, and Denmark, thus making it the group of death.

Group B

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
 Netherlands 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
 Denmark 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
 Germany 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
 Portugal 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

9 June 2012
19:00 UTC+3
Netherlands  Match 3  Denmark Metalist Stadium, Kharkiv

13 June 2012
21:45 UTC+3
Netherlands  Match 12  Germany Metalist Stadium, Kharkiv

17 June 2012
21:45 UTC+3
Portugal  Match 19  Netherlands Metalist Stadium, Kharkiv

2014 FIFA World Cup

On 30 July 2011 at the 2014 FIFA World Cup preliminary draw, The Netherlands were placed in Group D. They commence their qualifying campaign in late 2012 in a group that features contenders Turkey, Hungary, Romania, Estonia and Andorra[14]

Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
 Netherlands 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
 Turkey 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
 Hungary 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
 Romania 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
 Estonia 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
 Andorra 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Last 10 and known next games

Date Venue Opponent Competition Result Scorers
March 25, 2011 Stadium Puskas Ferenc,  Hungary  Hungary ECQ2012 0–4 W van der Vaart  8'
Afellay  45'
Kuyt  54'
van Persie  62'
March 29, 2011 Amsterdam Arena,  Netherlands  Hungary ECQ2012 5–3 W van Persie  13'
Sneijder  61'
van Nistelrooy  73'
Kuyt  78'81'
June 4, 2011 Estádio Serra Dourada,  Brazil  Brazil Friendly match 0–0 D
June 8, 2011 Estadio Centenario,  Uruguay  Uruguay Friendly match 1–1 D Kuyt  90'
September 2, 2011 Philips Stadion,  Netherlands  San Marino ECQ2012 11–0 W van Persie  7'65'67'79'
Sneijder  12'87'
Heitinga  17'
Kuyt  49'
Huntelaar  56'77'
Wijnaldum  89'
September 6, 2011 Helsinki Olympic Stadium,  Finland  Finland ECQ2012 0–2 W Strootman  29'
L. de Jong  90+3'
October 7, 2011 De Kuip,  Netherlands  Moldova ECQ2012 1–0 W Huntelaar  40'
October 11, 2011 Råsunda Stadium,  Sweden  Sweden ECQ2012 3–2 L Huntelaar  23'
Kuyt  50'
November 11, 2011 Amsterdam Arena,  Netherlands  Switzerland Friendly match 0–0 D
November 15, 2011 HSH Nordbank Arena,  Germany  Germany Friendly match 3–0 L
February 29, 2012 Wembley stadium,  England  England Friendly match
May 22, 2012 Allianz Arena,  Germany Bayern Munich Friendly match
May 26, 2012  Bulgaria  Bulgaria Friendly match
May 30, 2012  Slovakia  Slovakia Friendly match
June 2, 2012 Amsterdam Arena,  Netherlands  Northern Ireland Friendly match
June 9, 2012 Metalist Stadium,  Ukraine  Denmark UEFA Euro 2012
June 13, 2012 Metalist Stadium,  Ukraine  Germany UEFA Euro 2012
June 17, 2012 Metalist Stadium,  Ukraine  Portugal UEFA Euro 2012
August 15, 2012 TBD,  Belgium  Belgium Friendly match

KEY: ECQ2012 = UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying

Colours

The Netherlands national football team famously plays in bright orange shirts. Orange is the historic national colour of the Netherlands, originating from the coat of arms of the Dutch founding father William of Orange-Nassau. The top red band of the current flag was originally orange. The current Dutch away shirt is white, with two thin lines outlining a chevron containing the colours of the Dutch flag. Occasionally, orange socks are worn instead of light blue socks, such as in the qualifier against Scotland on March 28, 2009.

Nike is the kit provider to the national team, a sponsorship that began in 1996 and is contracted to continue until at least 2018.

Competitive record

FIFA World Cup record

Year Round Position GP W D* L GS GA
1930 Did Not Enter
1934 Round 1 9th 1 0 0 1 2 3
1938 Round 1 14th 1 0 0 1 0 3
1950 Did Not Enter
1954
1958 Did Not Qualify
1962
1966
1970
1974 Final 2nd 7 5 1 1 15 3
1978 Final 2nd 7 3 2 2 15 10
1982 Did Not Qualify
1986
1990 Round of 16 15th 4 0 3 1 3 4
1994 Quarter-Final 7th 5 3 0 2 8 6
1998 Semi-Final 4th 7 3 3* 1 13 7
2002 Did Not Qualify
2006 Round of 16 11th 4 2 1 1 3 2
2010 Final 2nd 7 6 0 1 12 6
2014 Qualifying
2018
2022
Total 9/19 3 Finals 43 22 10 11 71 44

UEFA European Championship record

UEFA European Championship record
Year Round Position GP W D* L GS GA
1960 Did Not Enter
1964 Did Not Qualify
1968
1972
1976 Third Place 3rd 2 1 0 1 4 5
1980 Group Stage 5th 3 1 1 1 4 4
1984 Did Not Qualify
1988 Champions 1st 5 4 0 1 8 3
1992 Semi Final 3rd 4 2 2 0 6 3
1996 Quarter Final 8th 4 1 2 1 3 4
2000 Semi Final 3rd 5 4 1 0 13 3
2004 Semi Final 4th 5 1 2 2 7 6
2008 Quarter Final 6th 4 3 0 1 10 4
2012 Qualified
2016 To Be Determined
Total Champions 9/14 32 17 8 7 55 32

Summer Olympics

Host nation(s) / Year Result GP W D* L GS GA
1908 Third place 2 1 0 1 2 4
1912 Third place 4 3 0 1 17 8
1920 Third place 4 2 0 2 9 10
1924 Fourth place 5 2 1 2 11 7
1928 Round 1 1 0 0 1 0 2
1948 First Round 2 1 0 1 6 5
1952 Preliminary Round 1 0 0 1 1 5
2008 Quarter Finals 4 1 2 1 4 4
Total 8/31 23 10 3 10 50 45
*Draws include knockout matches decided by penalty shootout.
**Gold background color indicates the tournament was won. Red border color indicates tournament was held on home soil.'

Coaching staff

Position Name Notes
Manager Bert van Marwijk
Assistant Manager Dick Voorn
Assistant Manager Phillip Cocu
Assistant Manager Ernest Faber
Forwards Coach René Eijkelkamp
Goalkeeping Coach Ruud Hesp
Fitness Coach Egid Kiesouw
Team Manager Hans Jorritsma
Head Scout Ronald Spelbos
Physician Gert-Jan Goudswaard
Physiotherapist Arno Philips
Other Staff Rob Koster
Carlo De Leeuw
U-21 Manager Cor Pot
U-19 Manager Wim van Zwam
U-17 Manager Albert Stuivenberg

Players

Current squad

The following players were named as part of the squad for the match against Germany, on November 15, 2011.

Caps and goals as of November 11, 2011.

0#0 Pos. Player Date of Birth (Age) Caps Goals Club
1 GK Maarten Stekelenburg September 22, 1982 (1982-09-22) (age 29) 44 0 Roma
GK Michel Vorm October 20, 1983 (1983-10-20) (age 28) 9 0 Swansea City
GK Tim Krul April 3, 1988 (1988-04-03) (age 23) 2 0 Newcastle United
4 DF Joris Mathijsen April 5, 1980 (1980-04-05) (age 31) 78 3 Málaga
3 DF John Heitinga (Vice-Captain) November 15, 1983 (1983-11-15) (age 28) 74 7 Everton
DF Khalid Boulahrouz December 28, 1981 (1981-12-28) (age 30) 34 0 VfB Stuttgart
2 DF Gregory van der Wiel February 3, 1988 (1988-02-03) (age 24) 29 0 Ajax
5 DF Edson Braafheid April 8, 1983 (1983-04-08) (age 28) 10 0 Hoffenheim
DF Ron Vlaar February 16, 1985 (1985-02-16) (age 27) 4 0 Feyenoord
DF Vurnon Anita April 4, 1989 (1989-04-04) (age 22) 3 0 Ajax
10 MF Wesley Sneijder June 9, 1984 (1984-06-09) (age 27) 80 23 Internazionale
6 MF Mark van Bommel (Captain) April 22, 1977 (1977-04-22) (age 34) 73 10 Milan
14 MF Nigel de Jong November 30, 1984 (1984-11-30) (age 27) 56 1 Manchester City
MF Stijn Schaars January 11, 1984 (1984-01-11) (age 28) 15 0 Sporting
8 MF Kevin Strootman February 13, 1990 (1990-02-13) (age 22) 10 1 PSV
18 MF Georginio Wijnaldum November 11, 1990 (1990-11-11) (age 21) 2 1 PSV
7 FW Dirk Kuyt July 22, 1980 (1980-07-22) (age 31) 84 24 Liverpool
9 FW Klaas-Jan Huntelaar August 12, 1983 (1983-08-12) (age 28) 49 30 Schalke 04
11 FW Ryan Babel December 19, 1986 (1986-12-19) (age 25) 42 5 Hoffenheim
17 FW Luuk de Jong August 27, 1990 (1990-08-27) (age 21) 6 1 Twente
20 FW Roy Beerens December 22, 1987 (1987-12-22) (age 24) 2 0 AZ

Recent call-ups

The following players have been called up for the team in the last 12 months.

Pos. Player Date of Birth (Age) Caps Goals Club Latest Call-up
GK Jasper Cillessen April 22, 1989 (1989-04-22) (age 22) 0 0 Ajax v.  Uruguay, June 8, 2011
GK Jelle ten Rouwelaar December 24, 1980 (1980-12-24) (age 31) 0 0 NAC v.  Uruguay, June 8, 2011
GK Sander Boschker October 20, 1970 (1970-10-20) (age 41) 1 0 Twente v.  Hungary, March 29, 2011
DF Jeffrey Bruma November 13, 1991 (1991-11-13) (age 20) 4 0 Hamburger SV v.  Sweden, October 11, 2011INJ
DF Erik Pieters July 8, 1988 (1988-07-08) (age 23) 14 0 PSV v.  Sweden, October 11, 2011INJ
DF Hedwiges Maduro February 13, 1985 (1985-02-13) (age 27) 18 0 Valencia v.  Moldova, October 7, 2011INJ
DF Peter Wisgerhof November 19, 1979 (1979-11-19) (age 32) 2 0 Twente v.  Austria, February 9, 2011
MF Rafael van der Vaart February 11, 1983 (1983-02-11) (age 29) 93 17 Tottenham Hotspur v.  Switzerland, November 11, 2011INJ
MF Ibrahim Afellay April 2, 1986 (1986-04-02) (age 25) 36 3 Barcelona v.  Moldova, October 7, 2011INJ
MF Demy de Zeeuw May 26, 1983 (1983-05-26) (age 28) 27 0 Spartak Moscow v.  Brazil, June 4, 2011
MF Urby Emanuelson June 16, 1986 (1986-06-16) (age 25) 14 0 Milan v.  Hungary, March 29, 2011
MF Theo Janssen July 27, 1981 (1981-07-27) (age 30) 5 0 Ajax v.  Austria, February 9, 2011
MF Royston Drenthe April 8, 1987 (1987-04-08) (age 24) 1 0 Everton v.  Turkey, November 17, 2010
FW Robin van Persie August 6, 1983 (1983-08-06) (age 28) 61 25 Arsenal v.  Switzerland, November 11, 2011
FW Derk Boerrigter October 16, 1986 (1986-10-16) (age 25) 0 0 Ajax v.  Switzerland, November 11, 2011INJ
FW Eljero Elia February 13, 1987 (1987-02-13) (age 25) 26 2 Juventus v.  Sweden, October 11, 2011
FW Jeremain Lens November 24, 1987 (1987-11-24) (age 24) 4 1 PSV v.  Sweden, October 11, 2011
FW Arjen Robben January 23, 1984 (1984-01-23) (age 28) 53 15 Bayern Munich v.  Moldova, October 7, 2011INJ
FW Ruud van Nistelrooy July 1, 1976 (1976-07-01) (age 35) 70 35 Málaga v.  Hungary, March 29, 2011
Notes

INJ Player withdrew from the squad due to an injury.

Past managers

Individual all-time records

  Still active players are highlighted

Most capped players

# Player National career Matches Goals Total career
1. Edwin van der Sar 1995–2008 130 0 1988–2011
2. Frank de Boer 1990–2004 112 13 1988–2005
3. Giovanni van Bronckhorst 1996–2010 106 6 1993–2010
4. Phillip Cocu 1996–2006 101 10 1988–2008
5. Rafael van der Vaart 2001–0000 93 17 2000–0000
6. Clarence Seedorf 1994–2008 87 11 1992–0000
7. Marc Overmars 1993–2004 86 17 1990–2009
8. Aron Winter 1987–2000 84 6 1986–2003
Dirk Kuyt 2004–0000 84 24 1998–0000
10. Ruud Krol 1969–1983 83 4 1968–1986
11. Wesley Sneijder 2003–0000 80 23 2002–0000
12. Dennis Bergkamp 1990–2000 79 37 1986–2006
Patrick Kluivert 1994–2004 79 40 1994–2008
14. Ronald Koeman 1983–1994 78 14 1980–1997
Joris Mathijsen 2004–0000 78 3 1998–0000
16. Edgar Davids 1994–2005 74 6 1992–2010
John Heitinga 2004–0000 74 7 2001–0000
18. Hans van Breukelen 1980–1992 73 0 1976–1994
Frank Rijkaard 1980–1994 73 10 1980–1995
Mark van Bommel 2000–0000 73 10 1992–0000
Last updated: 2 September 2011
Source: voetbalstats.nl (Dutch)

Most goals scored

# Player National career Goals Matches Average Total career
1. Patrick Kluivert 1994–2004 40 79 0.51 1994–2008
2. Dennis Bergkamp 1990–2000 37 79 0.47 1986–2006
3. Faas Wilkes 1946–1961 35 38 0.92 1940–1964
Ruud van Nistelrooy 1998–0000 35 70 0.50 1994–0000
5. Abe Lenstra 1940–1959 33 47 0.70 1935–1963
Johan Cruyff 1966–1977 33 48 0.69 1964–1984
7. Klaas-Jan Huntelaar 2006–0000 30 48 0.63 2002–0000
8. Bep Bakhuys 1928–1937 28 23 1.22 1925–1947
9. Kick Smit 1935–1946 26 29 0.90 1924–1950
10. Robin van Persie 2004–0000 25 60 0.42 2001–0000

Last updated: 12 October 2011
Source: voetbalstats.nl (Dutch)

Titles

See also

References

  1. ^ The Netherlands reached the top spot in the FIFA ranking on August 10, 2011. FIFA will publish the ranking on August 24.
  2. ^ http://www.fifa.com/associations/association=ned/ranking/gender=m/index.html
  3. ^ Note that this match is not considered to be a full international by the English FA, and does not appear in the records of the England team
  4. ^ "Netherlands: Full "A" internationals (1905–1910)". International Federation of Football History & Statistics. http://www.iffhs.de/?29da14a8db55291a14681bd4685fdcdc3bfcdc0aec28d6eda0a61c. Retrieved 15 May 2010. 
  5. ^ "Tactics: Were Holland 1974 the last true innovators?". Football Further. 2010-07-14. http://www.tomwfootball.com/2010/10/15/tactics-were-holland-1974-the-last-true-innovators/. Retrieved 2010-10-18. 
  6. ^ "Cheeseheads vs Krauts": 30 Years of Enmity, Ajax-USA.com, June 14, 2004
  7. ^ Phil Jones (1998-07-04). "The Netherlands pay back controversial loss to Argentina". sportsillustrated.cnn.com. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/soccer/world/events/1998/worldcup/news/1998/07/04/philjones_04/. Retrieved 2007-08-22. 
  8. ^ Stuart Watt (2006-06-26). "Portugal wins battle of Nuremberg". www.abc.net.au. http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200606/s1671528.htm. Retrieved 2007-08-22. 
  9. ^ "Van Basten on right track". Football.co.uk. http://www.football.co.uk/holland/van_basten_on_right_track_230197.shtml. Retrieved 2007-08-22. 
  10. ^ Kuyt kills off brave Hungary for Netherlands by Berend Scholten on UEFA.com
  11. ^ "San Marino on the end of record Netherlands win". Berend Scholten on UEFA.com. 2 September 2011. http://www.uefa.com/uefaeuro2012/matches/season=2012/round=15171/match=2002054/postmatch/report/index.html#san+marino+record+netherlands. Retrieved 2 September 2011. 
  12. ^ "December date for EURO finals draw in Kyiv". UEFA. 3 October 2011. http://www.uefa.com/uefaeuro2012/news/newsid=1692248.html. 
  13. ^ "EURO draw throws up fascinating group tests". UEFA. 2 December 2011. http://www.uefa.com/uefaeuro/news/newsid=1725325.html. 
  14. ^ http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/preliminarydraw/news/newsid=1483519/index.html

External links

Preceded by
1984France 
European Champions
1988 (First title)
Succeeded by
1992Denmark 
Awards
Preceded by
1999 Brazil 
FIFA Team of the Year
2000
Succeeded by
2001 Honduras