The team is colloquially referred to asHet Nederlands Elftal (The Dutch Eleven) orOranje, after theHouse of Orange-Nassau and their distinctive orange jerseys. Informally the team, like the country itself, is referred to asHolland. Additionally, their fan club is known asHet Oranje Legioen (The Orange Legion).[6]
The Netherlands has competed in elevenFIFA World Cups, appearing in the final three times (in1974,1978 and2010), finishing as runners-up on all three occasions. They have also appeared in elevenUEFA European Championships, winning the1988 tournament in West Germany. Additionally, the team has won bronze medals at threeOlympic football tournaments, in1908,1912 and1920. The Netherlands has long-standing football rivalries with neighboursBelgium andGermany as well as the South American country ofArgentina.
TheNetherlands played their first international match inAntwerp againstBelgium on 30 April 1905, with the players selected by a five-member commission from the Dutch Football Association. After 90 minutes, the score was tied at 1–1. Since the match was for the Coupe van den Abeele, it went into extra time, during whichEddy de Neve scoredthree times, making the score 4–1 for the Netherlands.[7] Some historians, however, attribute one of the goals scored toWillem Hesselink.[8]
In 1908, the Netherlands competed in their first official tournament at theSummer Olympics inLondon. They received a bronze medal after losing toGreat Britain in the semi-finals, before defeatingSweden in the bronze medal match 2–0.[9] At the Olympic Games in 1912 and 1920, the Netherlands finished with the bronze medal as they lost to Denmark and Belgium in the respective tournament.[10][11]
Netherlands make their way out to face Switzerland at the1934 FIFA World Cup.
The Netherlands reached the semi-finals at the1924 Summer Olympics in Paris after winning againstRomania andIreland. In the semi-finals, they gave up a one-goal lead, scored byKees Pijl, and lost 2–1 against Uruguay, ending up in the third place play-off for the fourth time,[12] losing to Sweden in a replay.[13]
After being eliminated in the first round at the1928 Summer Olympics on home turf,[14] they skipped thefirst World Cup in 1930 due to the cost of travel from Europe to South America.[15] The team made their first appearance at aFIFA World Cup in1934 where they took onSwitzerland.Kick Smit was the first goalscorer for the Netherlands in a World Cup. The team was eliminated in the opening round by Switzerland 3–2.[16] A second appearance at the1938 World Cup resulted in a first-round elimination againstCzechoslovakia.[17]
After the Second World War, the Netherlands qualified for only two international tournaments before the 1970s: the1948 Summer Olympics in Great Britain and the1952 Summer Olympics in Finland. They suffered early elimination, losing to the hosts in 1948[18] and toBrazil in 1952.[19]
Total football in the 1970s and first golden generation
During the 1970s, the team adopted theTotal Football (Dutch:Totaalvoetbal) strategy pioneered byAjax, and led by playmakerJohan Cruyff and national team head coachRinus Michels. The Netherlands made significant strides, qualifying for two World Cup finals in the decade.Carlos Alberto, captain of the Brazilian team that won the1970 FIFA World Cup said: "The only team I've seen that did things differently was Holland at the1974 World Cup in West Germany. Since then everything looks more or less the same to me ... Their 'carousel' style of play was amazing to watch and marvelous for the game."[20]
In 1974, the Netherlands beat both Brazil andArgentina in the second group stage, reaching the final for the first time in their history. However, they lost toWest Germany inthe final inMunich, after having gone up 1–0 throughJohan Neeskens' earlypenalty kick before a German had even touched the ball. However, a penalty byPaul Breitner and the winner fromGerd Müller, led to a victory for the Germans.[21]
The1976 European Championship saw the Netherlands reach their firstEuropean Championship. Czechoslovakia defeated the Netherlands in extra time.[22] The Netherlands finished in third place after defeating hosts Yugoslavia in extra time.[23]
In1978, the Netherlands qualified for the World Cup in Argentina. Johan Cruyff chose not to participate in the competition after a kidnapping attempt targeting him and his family in their Barcelona home, prioritising his family's safety and well-being over playing football.[24]Willem van Hanegem also declined to play after his AZ teammate Hugo Hovenkamp had to pull out and after he had fallen out with the Dutch coach, Ernst Happel. The squad still had players likeJan Jongbloed,Rob Rensenbrink,Johan Neeskens,Wim Suurbier andRuud Krol from the previous World Cup.[25] After finishing runners-up in Group 4 behindPeru, they recorded wins against Austria andItaly to set upa final with Argentina. After a controversial start, with Argentina questioning the plaster cast onRené van de Kerkhof's wrist, the match headed to extra time where the Netherlands lost 3–1 after two goals fromMario Kempes andDaniel Bertoni.[26]
Euro 1980 was the last tournament for which the Total Football team qualified. Despite the tournament format being expanded that year they did not advance past the group stage as they finished behind Czechoslovakia by goal difference.[27]
Veterans such as Krol and Rensenbrink retired soon afterwards and the Netherlands hit a low point in their history: they missed the1982 World Cup in Spain,Euro 1984 in France, and the1986 World Cup in Mexico; they missed the French tournament by virtue of goals scored whenSpain scored twelve in the final game againstMalta. While both teams had the samegoal difference (+16), Spain qualified having scored two more goals than the Netherlands.[28] During the qualification stage for the 1986 World Cup the Netherlands finished in second place and advanced to the play-offs against neighbours Belgium. After losing the first leg 1–0 inBrussels, they held a 2–0 lead atRotterdam with a few minutes remaining.Georges Grün's header in the 84th minute resulted in the Netherlands' elimination as Belgium advanced to the World Cup onaway goals.[29][30]
Rinus Michels returned, with his technical assistantNol de Ruiter, to coach the team forEuro 1988 in West Germany. After losing the first group match against theSoviet Union 1–0, the Netherlands qualified for the semi-finals by defeatingEngland 3–1 (with ahat-trick byMarco van Basten), and theRepublic of Ireland 1–0. Van Basten scored against the hosts in the 89th minute to sink the German side.[31] The Netherlands wonthe final with a victory over the USSR with a header byRuud Gullit and a volley by Van Basten. This was the national team's first major tournament win.[32]
The Netherlands was one of the favourites for the1990 World Cup tournament in Italy,[33] but they scored only two goals in the group stage which featured England,Egypt and the Republic of Ireland. After finishing the group stage with identical records, the Netherlands and the Republic of Ireland drew lots to determine which team would finish second. The Netherlands had the tougher draw against West Germany, while the Republic of Ireland faced Romania.[34] The match against West Germany is mostly remembered for the spitting incident involvingFrank Rijkaard andRudi Völler as the Netherlands were defeated 2–1.[31]
The team reached the semi-finals in theEuro 1992 in Sweden. They were eliminated by eventual championsDenmark whenPeter Schmeichel saved Van Basten's kick in the penalty shootout.[35] This was Van Basten's last major tournament as he suffered a serious ankle injury shortly after, and eventually retired at age 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 would be replaced by Johan Cruyff the following year.[36] After talks between Cruyff and the KNVB broke down, Advocaat remained in charge of the national team for the1994 World Cup in the United States.[37] In the World Cup, Van Basten andstriker Ruud Gullit were injured;[38] 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.[39]
WithGuus Hiddink as manager, Oranje went toEuro 1996. After finishing second in their group, they playedFrance in the quarter-finals. With the score 0–0, the match went to penalties.Clarence Seedorf's shot in the fourth round was stopped by French goalkeeperBernard Lama, and the penalty byLaurent Blanc eliminated the Netherlands.[40] After they finished top of thequalifying group, they were drawn in Group E of the1998 World Cup. With the Netherlands team featuring Dennis Bergkamp,Marc Overmars,Phillip Cocu,Edgar Davids,Frank de Boer,Ronald de Boer andPatrick Kluivert, they reached the semi-finals where they again lost on penalties, this time to Brazil. They then lost the third place play-off toCroatia.[41][42] Soon afterwards, Hiddink resigned, to be replaced by Frank Rijkaard. The Netherlands co-hostedEuro 2000 with Belgium and won all three games in the group stage and then defeatedFR Yugoslavia 6–1 in the quarter-finals. In the semi-finals, Italian goalkeeperFrancesco Toldo made two penalty shootout saves to eliminate the Netherlands. The team failed to qualify for the2002 World Cup after crucial losses toPortugal and the Republic of Ireland, prompting managerLouis van Gaal to resign.[43]
Dick Advocaat became the national coach of the Netherlands for the second time in January 2002.[44] They qualified forUEFA Euro 2004 after beatingScotland in emphatic fashion in the play-offs.[45] The tournament saw the Netherlands reach the semi-finals where they lost to hosts Portugal.[46] Advocaat resigned following criticism of his leadership in July 2004.[47]
The Netherlands qualified for the2006 World Cup under new manager Marco van Basten. They were eliminated in the second round after losing 1–0 to Portugal. The match produced 16yellow cards, matching the World Cup record for most cautions in one game set in 2002, and set a new World Cup record offour red cards, two per side;[48] it was nicknamed "theBattle of Nuremberg" by the press.[49] Despite criticism surrounding his selection decisions and the lack of attacking football from his team, Van Basten was offered a two-year extension to his contract by the KNVB. This allowed him to serve as national coach duringEuro 2008 and the2010 World Cup.[50] The Netherlands qualified for Euro 2008, where they were drawn in the "Group of Death", together with France, Italy and Romania.[51] They began with a 3–0 win over world champions Italy inBern, their first victory over the Italians since 1978. They then beat France by 4–1 to qualify for the second round, and went on winning the group on nine points after beating Romania 2–0. However, they then lost in the quarter-finals to Guus Hiddink'sRussia 3–1, withRuud van Nistelrooy scoring an 86th-minute equaliser to force extra time, where the Russians scored twice throughAndrey Arshavin. Following the tournament, Van Basten resigned having accepted the role at Ajax.[52]
Netherlands – France at Euro 2008Netherlands – Denmark at the 2010 World Cup
Under new coachBert van Marwijk, the Netherlands went on to secure a 100% record intheir World Cup 2010 qualification campaign, winning all their eight games to qualify for the World Cup. After they had comfortably qualified with maximum points in Group E[53] andSlovakia[54] in the round of 16, they took on Brazil in the quarter-finals. After trailing 1–0 at half-time,Wesley Sneijder scored two goals in the second half to advance the team to the semi-finals where they beatUruguay 3–2.[55] They advanced to their first World Cup final since 1978 butfell to Spain 1–0 after midfielderAndrés Iniesta scored in extra time.[56] From August to September 2011, the team was ranked number one in theFIFA World Ranking,[57] becoming the second national football team, after Spain, to top the ranking without previously winning a World Cup.
ForEuro 2012, the Netherlands were placed in Group B with Germany, Portugal and Denmark, dubbed the tournament "Group of Death".[58] The Netherlands lost all three of their group matches in a tournament for the first time in their history. Manager Bert van Marwijk resigned after the disappointment.[59]
Louis van Gaal became the manager for the second time. In the2014 World Cup UEFA qualifying round, the Netherlands won nine games and drew one, topping the group and earning automatic qualification. They were drawn intoGroup B, alongside Spain,Chile andAustralia. The team avenged their 2010 defeat by defeating title holders Spain 5–1 in their opening match.[60]
The national football team of the Netherlands before the 2010 FIFA World Cup final
After finishing top of Group B, the Netherlands defeatedMexico 2–1 in the round of 16, with Wesley Sneijder equalising late in the match andKlaas-Jan Huntelaar scoring a penalty.[61] In the quarter-finals, where they facedCosta Rica. After a 0–0 draw, the Netherlands won the ensuing penalty shootout 4–3. Backup goalkeeperTim Krul was brought on just before the end of extra time and made two saves in the shootout.[62]
In the semi-final against Argentina, the Netherlands were eliminated 4–2 on penalties.[63] The Netherlands won the third place match against hosts Brazil. Van Gaal, who successfully motivated the team after their semi-final elimination,[64] received praise for getting more out of the young and inexperienced Netherlands squad than many expected.[65][66]
Guus Hiddink followed Van Gaal as manager for theEuro 2016 qualifying campaign. On 29 June 2015, Hiddink resigned and was succeeded by his assistantDanny Blind. The Netherlands finished fourth in their group, failing to qualify for the European Championship for the first time since 1984, and missing a major tournament for the first time since 2002.[67] The team's poor form continued into the2018 World Cup qualifiers, eventually resulting in Blind being dismissed after a 2–0 defeat toBulgaria in March 2017. After the return of Dick Advocaat as coach, the Netherlands failed to qualify for the2018 World Cup, finishing third inGroup A behind France andSweden.[68]
In February 2018, Advocaat was replaced byRonald Koeman, on a contract until the summer of 2022.[69] The Netherlands qualified for League A in theUEFA Nations League which they would win to qualify for the final four after drawing with Germany on the last match day, beating France on the head-to-head record.[70] The Netherlands beatEngland in the semi-finals of the Nations League, but lost 1–0 in the final againstPortugal.[71]
The Netherlands qualified forUEFA Euro 2020,[72] however following the qualification, Ronald Koeman resigned from the team to coachBarcelona, eventually to be succeeded byFrank de Boer. With thecoronavirus pandemic postponingEuro 2020 to 2021, the Netherlands played their group matches at home at the Johan Cruyff Arena in Amsterdam, beatingUkraine 3–2,Austria 2–0 andNorth Macedonia 3–0. However, the tournament ended in disappointment for the Netherlands once more, as they were beaten 2–0 by theCzech Republic in their round of 16 tie inBudapest. Two days later, De Boer left his position.[73] He was replaced by Louis van Gaal, who came out of retirement to return for a third spell in charge of the side.[74] On 16 November 2021, the Netherlands qualified for the2022 World Cup after beatingNorway 2–0 and topping theirqualification group on the final day. In the2022 World Cup, the Netherlands topped their group with 7 points. They progressed to the quarter-finals where they eventually lost toArgentina on penalties.[75] The tournament was a farewell to manager Louis Van Gaal. He had come out of retirement, despite suffering from prostate cancer and promising his wife he was done with football. According to Dutch media, Van Gaal hid his health struggles from the Dutch team in the build up to the World Cup, even attending training with a catheter in.[citation needed]
AtUEFA Euro 2024, the Netherlands qualified from the group stage as one of the best third place teams after a win againstPoland, a draw withFrance and a defeat toAustria.[76][77][78] In the round of 16, the Netherlands won 3–0 againstRomania.[79] In the quarter-final, they facedTurkey who initially took the lead beforeStefan de Vrij equalised for the Netherlands. The comeback was completed with an own goal byMert Müldür meaning that the Netherlands qualified for the semi-finals for the first time sinceUEFA Euro 2004 and the2014 FIFA World Cup.[80] In the semi-final, they were eliminated by England after a late goal.[81]
The Netherlands national football team famously plays in bright orange shirts. Orange is the historicnational colour of the Netherlands, originating from one of the many title of the ruling head of state,Prince of Orange. The current Netherlands away shirt is blue. The lion on the crest is the Netherlands' national and royal animal and has been on the crest since 1907 when they won 3–1 over Belgium.[82] It is different from thewomen's team logo, which sports a lioness.
Nike is the national team'skit provider, a sponsorship that began in 1996 and is contracted to continue until at least 2026.[83] Before that the team was supplied byAdidas andLotto.[84]
To a lesser extent, the Netherlands maintains a rivalry with their other neighbour,Belgium; a Belgium–Netherlands fixture is referred to as aLow Countries derby. They have played in 129 matches as of September 2022[update] with the two competing against each other regularly between 1905 and 1964. This has diminished due to the rise of semi-professional football.[89]
Another rivalry that has been developing in recent times is againstSpain. Although not seen as intense by both sides in the past, matches like the2010 FIFA World Cup,2014 FIFA World Cup, and Nations League have helped make this rivalry grow.
The Netherlands national team does not have a national stadium but plays mostly at theJohan Cruyff Arena inAmsterdam. It played host to its first competitive Netherlands international match back in 1997, a1998 World Cup qualification match againstSan Marino which the Netherlands won 4–0,[91] after hosting a friendly match between The Netherlands and Brazil in 1996, which ended in a 2-2 draw.[92] The stadium was formally called the Amsterdam Arena until 2018 when it was renamed in memory of Johan Cruyff.[93]
INJ Player withdrew from the squad due to an injury. FIT Player withdrew from the squad due to fitness concerns. PRE Preliminary squad. RET Player had announced retirement from national team. SUS Player is serving a suspension. PRI Player absent due to private circumstances.
The Netherlands' first two tournament appearances at the 1934 and the 1938 editions saw them lose their first round matches to Switzerland (1934) and Czechoslovakia (1938).[98][99]
After not qualifying for the next six World Cups, they qualified for the 1974 FIFA World Cup inWest Germany. They lost 2–1 in the final, with Gerd Müller scoring the winning goal for the Germans, that year's hosts.[21] The Netherlands once again made the1978 FIFA World Cupfinal with the team finishing second in the group behind Peru. After finishing top of the all-European group in the second round, they met Argentina in the final. Argentina protested René van de Kerkhof's forearm plaster cast. After that protest, the game went to extra time where Argentina won 3–1 after scoring two goals in extra time.[26]
The 1990 edition saw the Netherlands not win a single game throughout the tournament, scoring only two goals in the group stage.[34][100] 1994 saw the Netherlands knocked out in the quarter-final stage as they lost to eventual champions Brazil withBranco's brutal free-kick sending them out.[39] After qualifying from their group with five points, the Netherlands made the semi-finals of the 1998 edition where they once again lost to the Brazilians! This time, however, it was by penalties. Both Phillip Cocu's and Ronald de Boer's shots missed the goal to give Brazil a spot in the final. This was taken very hard by the Netherlands. The Netherlands went on to finish in fourth place after losing to Croatia in the third place playoff.[101]
In 2006, the Netherlands made it to the round of 16 where, in what was called the "Battle of Nuremberg" they lost by a single goal to Portugal. The Netherlands were given seven yellow cards.[49] The following edition, in 2010, saw the team qualify to the knockout stage by finishing atop Group E. After defeating Slovakia 2–1 in the round of 16, they came back from an early goal byRobinho to defeat Brazil 2–1 in the quarter-finals as Wesley Sneijder scored a double.[54][55] In the semi-finals, they defeated Uruguay in a tough game for the Netherlands, making their first World Cup final since 1978.[102] In the final, they took on Spain, with La Roja scoring the winning goal in the 116th minute.[103][56]
In 2014, the Netherlands finished atop Group B with wins over Spain, Australia and Chile.[104] The Netherlands took bronze in the tournament after defeating host nation Brazil 3–0 in the third place playoff.[62][105]
With the Netherlands having failed to qualify for the2018 World Cup, falling behind France and Sweden in the qualifying group stage, they qualified for the2022 World Cup. They defeated Senegal in the group stage, followed by a draw against Ecuador, and a win over hosts Qatar. In the Round of 16 the Netherlands defeated the United States 3-1, only to lose to eventual champions Argentina in the Quarter Finals in a penalty shootout after 2-2.
^Note that this match is not considered to be a full international by the EnglishFootball Association, and does not appear in the records of theEngland team, because professional football had already been introduced in England at that time. In the Netherlands, however, professional football was not introduced until 1954. Before then, players who left the Netherlands to turn pro in another country were banned from the national team.
^Stokkermans, Karel; Jönsson, Mikael (20 October 2015)."Games of the VIII. Olympiad".Archived from the original on 11 July 2022. Retrieved18 February 2019.
^Barreca, Vincenzo (December 1999). "La storia degli Europei – 1980 Germania Ovest" [The history of Euro Cup – 1980].Calcio 2000 (in Italian). Action Group. p. 54.
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