Netherlands national football team

This article is about the men's team. For the women's team, see Netherlands women's national football team.
Netherlands
Nickname(s) Oranje
Holland
Clockwork Orange[1]
The Flying Dutchmen[2]
Association Koninklijke Nederlandse Voetbalbond (KNVB)
Confederation UEFA (Europe)
Head coach Guus Hiddink
Asst coach Danny Blind
Ruud van Nistelrooy[3]
Captain Robin van Persie
Vice-captain Arjen Robben
Most caps Edwin van der Sar (130)
Top scorer Robin van Persie (49)
Home stadium Amsterdam Arena (53,052)
De Kuip (51,117)
Philips Stadion (36,000)
FIFA code NED
FIFA ranking 6 Decrease 1 (9 April 2015)
Highest FIFA ranking 1[4] (August–September 2011)
Lowest FIFA ranking 25 (May 1998)
Elo ranking 5 (31 March 2015)
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, June 2014.)
Lowest Elo ranking 56 (October 1954)
First colours
Second colours
Third colours
First international
 Belgium 1–4 (aet) Netherlands 
(Antwerp, Belgium; 30 April 1905)
Biggest win
 Netherlands 11–0 San Marino 
(Eindhoven, Netherlands; 2 September 2011)
Biggest defeat
England England Amateurs 12-2 Netherlands 
(Feethams, Darlington, England; 21 December 1907)[5][6]
World Cup
Appearances 10 (First in 1934)
Best result Runners-up, 1974, 1978 and 2010
European Championship
Appearances 9 (First in 1976)
Best result Champions, 1988

The Netherlands national football team (Dutch: Het Nederlands Elftal) represents the Netherlands in international association football. It is controlled by the Royal Netherlands Football Association (KNVB), the governing body for football in the Netherlands.

The team is colloquially referred to as Het Nederlands Elftal (The Dutch Eleven) and Oranje, after the House of Orange-Nassau. Like the country itself, the team is sometimes (also colloquially) referred to as Holland.[7] The official code to "Netherlands" is "NED".

The Dutch hold the record for playing the most World Cup finals without ever winning the tournament. They finished second in the 1974, 1978 and 2010 World Cups, losing to West Germany, Argentina and Spain respectively.[8] They won the UEFA European Championship in 1988.[9]

History

The Netherlands in 1910

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 4–1 for the Dutch side.[10]

The Netherlands made their first appearance at the World Cup final tournament in 1934. After a second appearance in 1938 they did not appear in another World Cup until 1974.

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."[11]

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.

The Dutch team before their 1–2 loss against West Germany in the final of the 1974 World Cup

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 team 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

The 1988 trophy on display in Amsterdam
Rinus Michels

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 qualified 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 scored in the 89th minute to sink the German side.[12] The Netherlands won the final with a victory over the USSR 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, as strife within the squad and managerial instability (Thijs Libregts took over from Michels only to be fired shortly after the team qualified, and was replaced by Leo Beenhakker for the finals) ultimately tore the team apart. 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 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 ankle injury shortly after, eventually conceding defeat and retiring at the age of 30 in 1995; it was also the last hurrah for Rinus Michels, who returned for one final spell in charge of the team before retiring for good after the tournament ended.

Dick Advocaat took over from Michels on the understanding that he himself would be replaced by Johan Cruijff the following year, although Advocaat actually stayed in charge for over two years. In the 1994 World Cup, in the absence of the 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.

The Netherlands at Euro 96 in a match against Scotland.

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.[13] 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 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 France, they then defeated Yugoslavia 6–1 in the quarter-finals. In the semi-finals, their opponents, Italy, went down to ten men in the first half. Italian goalkeeper Francesco Toldo made two saves in the shootout to eliminate the Netherlands. Dennis Bergkamp 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 during the mid nineties, including Edwin van der Sar, Edgar Davids, Michael Reiziger, Clarence Seedorf, Marc Overmars, Patrick Kluivert and the De Boer twins.

Netherlands at the 2006 World Cup

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 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.[14] 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.[15]

Netherlands – France at Euro 2008

The Netherlands qualified for Euro 2008, where they were drawn 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. On 13 June 2008, in their second group match against France who were the World Cup runners-up, 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-finals to former coach Guus Hiddink's Russia by a score of 3–1, with Ruud van Nistelrooy scoring an 86th minute equaliser to force extra time where the Russians went on to score twice.

Netherlands – Denmark at the 2010 World Cup

Under new coach Bert van Marwijk, the Dutch team went on to secure a 100 percent record in their World Cup 2010 qualification campaign, and qualifying for the World Cup. The World Cup Draw saw the Dutch being placed alongside Denmark, Cameroon and Japan in Group E. The Dutch won 2–0 against Denmark in their opener at the World Cup. They then beat Japan 1–0. They qualified for the Round of 16. In the first knockout round they faced Slovakia and came out with a 2–1 victory. In the quarter-finals against Brazil, the Brazilians held a 1–0 lead at the half and had never lost in 37 World Cup matches (35–0–2) in which they had held a halftime lead, but the Dutch scored twice for a 2-1 win to advance. In the semi-final the Dutch beat Uruguay 3–2 to advance to their first World Cup final since 1978. The Dutch lost to Spain 1–0 after midfielder Andres Iniesta scored in extra time. The Dutch team was criticized for its rough play in the final, and was given nine yellow cards in the single game (including a double yellow card to John Heitinga). Johan Cruyff later public criticized the team for playing in an "ugly" and "vulgar" style. The Associated Press was of the opinion that the Dutch had "turned far too often to dirty tactics." This final also became Giovanni van Bronckhorst's last match as a professional before retiring.

From August to September 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.

Euro 2012

Netherlands was placed in Group B along with Germany, Portugal, and Denmark, thus making it the Group of Death. The Netherlands lost to Denmark 0-1, lost to Germany 1-2, and finally lost to Portugal 1-2 and exited the competition. Johan Cruyff criticised the team's star players of poor build up play and sloppy execution of the easy passes.[16][17] Manager Bert van Marwijk resigned after this disappointment.

2014 FIFA World Cup

Louis van Gaal, who had formerly coached the Netherlands' unsuccessful 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification, became manager for the second time. In the 2014 World Cup UEFA qualifying round, the Netherlands won 13 games and drew one, topping the group and earning automatic qualification. They were drawn into Group B, along with Spain, Chile and Australia. The team avenged their 2010 defeat by defeating the title holders with an astonishing 5-1 victory in their opening match, with Robin van Persie and Arjen Robben scoring two goals each, and Stefan de Vrij scoring one. After the Dutch fell behind 1-0 from conceding a penalty, van Persie equalized just before half time with an acrobatic diving header which gave him the nickname "The Flying Dutchman". The second match against Australia was won in comeback fashion after trailing Australia 2-1; the Dutch won 3-2 thanks to goals from Arjen Robben and Robin van Persie either side of Australia's two, with Memphis Depay scoring the game-winner. Their final group match against Chile was a stalemate until Leroy Fer scored in the 77th minute and Memphis Depay scored again in stoppage time to win the game 2-0 and clinch first place in group B.

The Dutch team leaves the field after losing to Argentina

The Netherlands defeated Mexico in the Round of 16 by a score of 2-1, with Wesley Sneijder and Klaas-Jan Huntelaar both scoring late to overturn a 0-1 deficit. In the quarterfinals where they faced Costa Rica, the Dutch had many shots on goal but could not score as the match finished 0-0 after extra time. Netherlands won the penalty shootout 4-3, thanks to goalkeeper Tim Krul who was brought on just before the end of extra time and made two spot kick saves, one from Bryan Ruiz and one from Michael Umaña marking the first time in FIFA World Cup history a goalkeeper was brought onto the field solely to participate in a shootout.[18] In the semi-final game against Argentina, the Netherlands had one good chance by Arjen Robben while managing to contain Argentine superstar Lionel Messi. Both teams finished scoreless after extra time. However, in the shootout Holland was eliminated 4-2, with Ron Vlaar and Wesley Sneijder having their spot kicks saved.[19]

The Netherlands played hosts Brazil in the third place match and took an early lead through a Robin Van Persie 3rd minute penalty after Arjen Robben was pulled back by Brazilian defender Thiago Silva. Daley Blind added a second after 16 minutes, and a third goal was added by Georginio Wijnaldum in the 91st minute. This was Holland's first bronze medal (third place finish) in the history of the World Cup, and also the first time they had concluded a major international tournament unbeaten (a penalty shootout elimination is counted as a draw). They also became the first team in World Cup history to ever use all 23 players in the squad, when keeper Michel Vorm was brought on for the last minutes of the third place game, having already used 22 players in the previous six matches. Manager Louis van Gaal, who successfully motivated the team after their semi-final knockout,[20] received praise for getting more out of the young and inexperienced Netherlands squad than many expected.[21][22]

Euro 2016

Louis van Gaal's resignation took effect at the end of the 2014 FIFA World Cup, due to becoming a manager at Manchester United and he was succeeded as manager by Guus Hiddink, who had previously coached the team to fourth in the 1998 FIFA World Cup, for the UEFA Euro 2016 campaign. Hiddink will be replaced by the current assistant coach Danny Blind after the Euro 2016.

Team image

Colours

Dutch fans wearing the traditional orange colours at a 2006 World Cup match in Stuttgart

The Netherlands national football team famously plays in bright orange shirts. Orange is the historic national colour of the Netherlands, originating from one of the many titles of the ruling head of state, Prince of Orange, which is also the color of the same name. The current Dutch away shirt is white.

Nike is the kit provider to the national team, a sponsorship that began in 1998 and is contracted to continue until at least 2026.

Kit provider Period
Adidas 1970 – 1990
Lotto 1991 – 1996
Nike 1996 – at least 2026

Rivalries

Netherlands' long-time football rivals are Germany. The rivalry is one of the few long-standing football rivalries at a national level. Beginning in 1974 when the Dutch lost the 1974 FIFA World Cup to West Germany in the final (though deeply rooted in Dutch anti-German sentiment due to the occupation of the Netherlands by Germany during World War II), the rivalry between the two nations has become one of the best-known international football rivalries in the world.[23]

Kits

Kits Evolution

The following are the home kits worn by the Netherland national team

Home kit until 1904
1934
1934 World Cup
1974
1974 (alt.)
1978-1980*
1978 (alt.)
1986
1988
1988 (alt.)
1990
1994
1996
1998
2000
2002
2002 (alt.)
2004
2004 (alt.)
2006
2006 (alt.)
2008
2008 (alt.)
2010
2010 (alt.)
2012
2014
2014 (alt.)

The following are the away kits worn by the Netherland national team.

1978
1980
1986
1990
1994
1996 Euros
1998
2000
2002
2004
2006
2008
2010
2010 (alt.)
2012
2013
2014
2015

Coaching staff

Position Name Notes
Manager Netherlands Guus Hiddink
Assistant Manager Netherlands Danny Blind
Netherlands Ruud Van Nistelrooy
Goalkeeping Coach Netherlands Patrick Lodewijks
Fitness Coach Netherlands Rene Wormhoudt
Team Manager Netherlands Hans Jorritsma
Head Scout Netherlands Ronald Spelbos
Physician Netherlands Gert-Jan Goudswaard
Physiotherapist Netherlands Arno Philips
Other Staff Netherlands Rob Koster
Netherlands Carlo de Leeuw
U-21 Manager Netherlands Adrie Koster
U-19 Manager Netherlands Aron Winter
U-17 Manager Netherlands Maarten Stekelenburg

Current squad

The following players were called to the squad for the UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying match against Turkey on 28 March 2015 and the friendly match against Spain on 31 March 2015.
Caps and goals updated as of 31 March 2015 after the match against Spain.

# Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1 GK Kenneth Vermeer 10 January 1986 5 0 Netherlands Feyenoord
22 GK Tim Krul 3 April 1988 7 0 England Newcastle United
23 GK Jasper Cillessen 22 April 1989 21 0 Netherlands Ajax
2 DF Daryl Janmaat 22 July 1989 24 0 England Newcastle United
3 DF Stefan de Vrij 5 February 1992 27 3 Italy Lazio
4 DF Bruno Martins Indi 8 February 1992 28 2 Portugal Porto
5 DF Jetro Willems 30 March 1994 15 0 Netherlands PSV
12 DF Gregory van der Wiel 3 February 1988 42 0 France Paris Saint-Germain
13 DF Joël Veltman 15 January 1992 7 0 Netherlands Ajax
14 DF Jeffrey Bruma 13 November 1991 8 1 Netherlands PSV
6 MF Daley Blind 9 March 1990 27 2 England Manchester United
7 MF Luciano Narsingh 13 September 1990 11 2 Netherlands PSV
8 MF Davy Klaassen 21 February 1993 2 1 Netherlands Ajax
10 MF Wesley Sneijder (Captain) 9 June 1984 113 28 Turkey Galatasaray
11 MF Memphis Depay 13 February 1994 15 2 Netherlands PSV
16 MF Nigel de Jong 13 November 1984 81 1 Italy Milan
17 MF Quincy Promes 4 January 1992 3 0 Russia Spartak Moscow
18 MF Georginio Wijnaldum 11 November 1990 18 2 Netherlands PSV
20 MF Jonathan de Guzmán 13 September 1987 14 0 Italy Napoli
21 MF Ibrahim Afellay 2 April 1986 50 6 Greece Olympiacos
9 FW Klaas-Jan Huntelaar 12 August 1983 71 39 Germany Schalke 04
15 FW Luuk de Jong 27 August 1990 7 1 Netherlands PSV
19 FW Bas Dost 31 May 1989 2 0 Germany Wolfsburg

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 Jeroen Zoet 6 January 1991 0 0 Netherlands PSV v.  Turkey, 28 March 2015 PRE
GK Michel Vorm 20 October 1983 15 0 England Tottenham Hotspur v.  Italy, 4 September 2014 PRE
DF Ron Vlaar 16 February 1985 32 1 England Aston Villa v.  Turkey, 28 March 2015 PRE
DF Ricardo van Rhijn 13 June 1991 8 0 Netherlands Ajax v.  Turkey, 28 March 2015 PRE
DF Sven van Beek 28 July 1994 0 0 Netherlands Feyenoord v.  Turkey, 28 March 2015 PRE
DF Karim Rekik 2 December 1994 1 0 Netherlands PSV v.  Latvia, 16 November 2014
DF Paul Verhaegh 1 September 1983 3 0 Germany Augsburg v.  Mexico, 12 November 2014 PRE
DF Virgil van Dijk 8 July 1991 0 0 Scotland Celtic v.  Mexico, 12 November 2014 PRE
DF Erik Pieters 7 August 1988 18 0 England Stoke City v.  Kazakhstan, 10 October 2014
DF Terence Kongolo 14 February 1994 2 0 Netherlands Feyenoord 2014 FIFA World Cup
DF Patrick van Aanholt 29 August 1990 2 0 England Sunderland 2014 FIFA World Cup PRE
MF Jordy Clasie 27 June 1991 11 0 Netherlands Feyenoord v.  Spain, 31 March 2015 INJ
MF Arjen Robben 23 January 1984 86 28 Germany Bayern Munich v.  Turkey, 28 March 2015 INJ
MF Eljero Elia 13 February 1987 27 2 England Southampton v.  Turkey, 28 March 2015 PRE
MF Leroy Fer 5 January 1990 11 1 England Queens Park Rangers v.  Latvia, 16 November 2014
MF Davy Pröpper 2 September 1991 0 0 Netherlands Vitesse v.  Kazakhstan, 10 October 2014 PRE
MF Rafael van der Vaart 11 February 1983 109 25 Germany Hamburg v.  Italy, 4 September 2014 INJ
MF Jean-Paul Boëtius 22 March 1994 1 0 Netherlands Feyenoord 2014 FIFA World Cup PRE
MF Tonny Vilhena 3 January 1995 0 0 Netherlands Feyenoord 2014 FIFA World Cup PRE
MF Marco van Ginkel 1 December 1992 2 0 Italy Milan v.  Ecuador, 17 May 2014 PRE
FW Robin van Persie 6 August 1983 96 49 England Manchester United v.  Latvia, 16 November 2014 INJ
FW Jeremain Lens 24 November 1987 29 8 Ukraine Dynamo Kyiv v.  Iceland, 13 October 2014
FW Dirk Kuyt RET 22 July 1980 104 24 Turkey Fenerbahçe v.  Kazakhstan, 10 October 2014 PRE
FW Luc Castaignos 27 September 1992 0 0 Netherlands Twente v.  Ecuador, 17 May 2014 PRE
FW Jürgen Locadia 11 July 1993 0 0 Netherlands PSV v.  Ecuador, 17 May 2014 PRE / INJ

INJ Player withdrew from the squad due to an injury.
PRE Preliminary squad.
RET Retired from international football.

Previous squads

FIFA World Cup
European Championship
Olympic football tournament

Results and fixtures

For all past match results of the national team, see the team's results page

The following matches were played or are scheduled to be played by the national team in the current or upcoming seasons.

2014

2015

Records

Most capped

Top Scorers

Last updated: 31 March 2015
Source: voetbalstats.nl (Dutch)[25][26]

Competitive record

FIFA World Cup record

FIFA World Cup record FIFA World Cup Qualification record
Year Round Position Pld W D* L GF GA Pld W D L GF GA
Uruguay 1930 Did Not Enter Declined Participation
Italy 1934 Round 1 9th 1 0 0 1 2 3 2 2 0 0 9 4
France 1938 Round 1 14th 1 0 0 1 0 3 2 1 1 0 5 1
Brazil 1950 Did Not Enter Declined Participation
Switzerland 1954
Sweden 1958Did Not Qualify 4 2 1 1 12 7
Chile 1962 3 0 2 1 4 7
England 1966 6 2 2 2 6 4
Mexico 1970 6 3 1 2 9 5
West Germany 1974 Runners-Up2nd 7 5 1 1 15 3 6 4 2 0 24 2
Argentina 1978 Runners-Up 2nd 7 3 2 2 15 10 6 5 1 0 11 3
Spain 1982 Did Not Qualify 8 4 1 3 11 7
Mexico 1986 8 4 1 3 13 7
Italy 1990 Round of 16 15th 4 0 3 1 3 4 6 4 2 0 8 2
United States 1994 Quarter-Finals 7th 5 3 0 2 8 6 10 6 3 1 29 9
France 1998 Fourth Place 4th 7 3 3 1 13 7 8 6 1 1 26 4
South Korea Japan 2002 Did Not Qualify 10 6 2 2 30 9
Germany 2006 Round of 16 11th 4 2 1 1 3 2 12 10 2 0 27 3
South Africa 2010 Runners-Up 2nd 7 6 0 1 12 6 8 8 0 0 17 2
Brazil 2014 Third Place 3rd 7 5 2 0 15 4 10 9 1 0 34 5
Russia 2018 To be determined
Qatar 2022
Total Runners-Up 10/20 50 27 12 11 86 48 115 76 23 16 275 81

Summer Olympics

Host nation(s) / Year Result GP W D* L GS GA
United Kingdom 1908Third Place210124
Sweden 1912Third Place4301178
Belgium 1920Third Place4202910
France 1924Fourth Place5212117
Netherlands 1928Round 1100102
United Kingdom 1948Round 1210165
Finland 1952Preliminary Round100115
China 2008Quarter-Finals412144
Total8/2523103105045

UEFA European Championship

Year Round Position GP W D* L GS GA
France 1960 Did Not Enter
Spain 1964 Did Not Qualify
Italy 1968
Belgium 1972
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia 1976 Third Place 3rd 2 1 0 1 4 5
Italy 1980 Group Stage 5th 3 1 1 1 4 4
France 1984 Did Not Qualify
West Germany 1988 Champions 1st 5 4 0 1 8 3
Sweden 1992 Semi Final 3rd 4 2 2 0 6 3
England 1996 Quarter-Finals 8th 4 1 2 1 3 4
Netherlands|Belgium 2000 Semi Final 3rd 5 4 1 0 13 3
Portugal 2004 Semi Final 3rd 5 1 2 2 7 6
Switzerland Austria 2008 Quarter-Finals 6th 4 3 0 1 10 4
Poland Ukraine 2012 Group Stage 15th 3 0 0 3 2 5
France 2016 To be determined
European Union 2020 To be determined
Total1 Title9/1435178105737

Honours

Competition 1st 2nd 3rd Total
World Cup 0 3 1 4
European Championship 1 0 4 5
Confederations Cup 0 0 0 0
Olympic Games 0 0 3 3
Total 1 3 8 12
This is a list of honours for the senior Dutch national team
The bronze medalists of the 1912 Summer Olympics

Other Tournaments

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Holland Football Facts". Holland.com. 25 July 2013. Retrieved 25 July 2013.
  2. ↑ "Holland’s media-friendly football pros". Radio Netherlands Worldwide. 17 December 2011. Retrieved 25 July 2013.
  3. ↑ http://www.uefa.com/uefaeuro/qualifiers/news/newsid=2091509.html
  4. ↑ The Netherlands reached the top spot in the FIFA ranking on 10 August 2011. FIFA published the ranking on 24 August.
  5. ↑ Note that this match is not considered to be a full international by the English Football Association, and does not appear in the records of the England team, because professional football had already been introduced in England at that time. In the Netherlands however, professional football would only be introduced in 1954, and before that time, players who left the Netherlands to turn pro in another country were banned from the national team.
  6. ↑ "Interlands Nederlands Eiftal en 1907". www.voretbalstats.nl. Retrieved 20 December 2014.
  7. ↑ "Netherlands vs. Holland".
  8. ↑ "125 Jaar". KNVB. Retrieved 27 October 2014.
  9. ↑ "Netherlands team profile". UEFA. Retrieved 27 October 2014.
  10. ↑ "Netherlands: Full "A" internationals (1905–1910)". International Federation of Football History & Statistics. Retrieved 15 May 2010.
  11. ↑ "Tactics: Were Holland 1974 the last true innovators?". Football Further. 14 July 2010. Retrieved 18 October 2010.
  12. ↑ "Cheeseheads vs Krauts": 30 Years of Enmity, Ajax-USA.com, 14 June 2004
  13. ↑ Phil Jones (4 July 1998). "The Netherlands pay back controversial loss to Argentina". sportsillustrated.cnn.com. Retrieved 22 August 2007.
  14. ↑ Stuart Watt (26 June 2006). "Portugal wins battle of Nuremberg". www.abc.net.au. Retrieved 22 August 2007.
  15. ↑ "Van Basten on right track". Football.co.uk. 27 June 2006. Retrieved 4 May 2012.
  16. ↑ Cruyff: Star players didn't deliver for Netherlands, 19 June 2012.
  17. ↑ Johan Cruyff kritisiert Oranje-Team, der Standard, 19 June 2012
  18. ↑ FIFA. "Tenacity triumphs as last four completed". FIFA.com. FIFA.
  19. ↑ http://nos.nl/wk2014/artikel/672991-oranje-ten-onder-na-strafschoppen.html|website=nos.nl
  20. ↑
  21. ↑ 3 Michel Vorm And Two Minutes Of Glory sbnation.com
  22. ↑
  23. ↑ "10 best rivalries in international football"
  24. ↑ https://knvb.voetbalticket-shop.nl/web/show/id=422417
  25. ↑ "Most Caps".
  26. ↑ "Top Scorers".
  27. ↑ http://www.rsssf.com/tablesm/mandela.html
  28. ↑ http://www.nasazzi.com/pays/pays-bas

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Netherlands national football team.
Achievements
Preceded by
1984 France 		 European Champions
1988 (First title) 		Succeeded by
1992 Denmark 
Awards
Preceded by
Brazil 		 FIFA Team of the Year
2000 		Succeeded by
Honduras