Netherlands – World Cup Profile | OneFootball

With the world’s biggest sporting event just around the corner, it’s time to take a closer look at every team participating. I’ll be covering Group F, four very strong teams with a lot of quality. Let’s start with the group favorites: the Netherlands.

How They Qualified

World Cup qualifying was pretty straightforward for the Netherlands. They were drawn into Group G alongside Poland, Finland, Malta, and Lithuania.

The Oranje kicked off their qualifying campaign a year ago today with a 2-0 win over Finland in Helsinki. Three days later, they smashed Malta 8-0 at home in Groningen. It was the perfect start, two victories with clean sheets and a +10 goal difference.

Next international window was in September and it started with a tough match against the second-best team in the group. The Netherlands hosted Poland and dropped points with a 1-1 draw thanks to a Matty Cash equalizer in the 80th minute. The second match of the window was historic. Memphis Depay scored a brace in a 3-2 away win against Lithuania, making him the all-time top scorer for the Netherlands.

October brought rematches with Finland and Malta. Both ended with 4-0 victories for the Dutch. Cody Gakpo was the standout with three goals across those two games.

Qualifiers came to a close for the Netherlands in November. First up was the all-important match against Poland in Warsaw. Anything but a loss would do for the Dutch as they looked to directly qualify in top spot. The end result was a 1-1 draw just like the first match as Depay canceled out Jakub Kamiński’s opener. They wrapped up their qualifying fixtures with a dominant 4-0 win over Lithuania.

In the end, the Netherlands didn’t lose a single game in World Cup qualifying. They finished top of Group G with 20 points and a +23 goal difference. This was enough to seed them in Pot 1 for the World Cup draw.

Key Players

Virgil Van Dijk

The main strength for the Netherlands is their defense. This is largely thanks to their captain, Virgil Van Dijk. The 34 year old is one of the best center backs to ever play the sport and will hope to lead his nation to glory in his second World Cup. He’s won 91 caps for the national team, meaning that if he plays in their friendly tomorrow against Uzbekistan and every World Cup game he’d make his 100th cap in the final if the Dutch make it that far. 

Van Dijk did show signs of aging this season with Liverpool as it was a disappointing year for him and the club. The Netherlands do have many other talented defenders but Van Dijk is their most integral player and will need to be at the peak of his powers if they are to make a deep run. Manager Ronald Koeman has relied on him since their time at Southampton together. They know how to get the best out of each other and it should show during this World Cup.

Cody Gakpo

Although the Netherlands have a very strong defense and midfield, their attack is a huge question mark. All-time leading scorer Depay is now 32 and playing for Corinthians in Brazil. Last year’s hero Weghorst is 33 and scored single-digit goals for Ajax. Donyell Malen has torn up Serie A but hasn’t ever played in a World Cup. All of this is why Cody Gakpo is their second key player. A teammate of Van Dijk’s for club and country, Gakpo also had a season to forget in the Premier League. 

However, his best football has always come at international level. He burst onto the scene in the 2022 World Cup as he scored in every single group stage game to propel the Oranje to the knockouts. The 2024 Euros were just as good, as he scored three goals and provided an assist. That was enough to make him the joint-Golden Boot winner and bring the Netherlands to the semifinals. Gakpo always shows up for his country and he’ll be relied on more than ever this World Cup.

Potential Breakout Player

Bart Verbruggen

The Netherlands brought a very experienced squad to the World Cup. Only one player is under the age of 23, that being Jorrel Hato. As he won’t play a huge role, the breakout player has to be someone else. Interestingly, the youngest position group for the Dutch is at goalkeeper.

Bart Verbruggen was the starter in World Cup qualifying and will likely keep his spot this summer. The 23 year old broke into the senior national team in Euro 2024, starting for the Dutch as they made the semifinal. He has become a reliable shot-stopper for Brighton in the Premier League as they finished 8th this season. Verbruggen will look to announce himself as one of the top goalkeepers in the world in his first World Cup.

World Cup History

Despite an incredible footballing history, the Netherlands have never managed to lift the biggest prize. They are widely considered as the best nation to never win the World Cup. Their World Cup history started with back to back round of 16 exits in 1934 and 1938, but they then didn’t make the tournament for another 40 years.

The golden era of the Netherlands came in the 1970s. They revolutionized the sport with their “Total Football” style of play, headlined by the legendary Johan Cruyff. Coming off a Ballon d’Or in 1973, Cruyff’s Oranje entered the 1974 World Cup as favorites. They proved why they were rated so highly by easily making it to the final, only conceding one goal along the way. In the final they faced the host nation West Germany. The match was overshadowed by a pool party scandal around the Dutch team and as a result they didn’t prepare at all for the final. Cruyff won a penalty immediately that was converted by Johan Neeskens two minutes into the game, but the hosts battled back and won 2-1 on home soil. Cruyff was still voted the best player of the tournament and won the 1974 Ballon d’Or.

1978 saw the Dutch once again make it to the World Cup final. Just like in 1974, they faced the host nation. It was a game against Argentina at the historic Estadio Monumental in Buenos Aires. The Netherlands had a great tournament considering that Cruyff had retired from international football a year prior, but in the end they came up short again. Mario Kempes scored a brace including the winner in extra time as the hosts won their first World Cup by a score of 3-1.

The Netherlands failed to qualify for the World Cup in the 1980s but made it to the knockouts of every edition in the ‘90s. This decade brought another golden generation of Dutch footballers, headlined by the likes of Van Basten, Gullit, Bergkamp, Kluivert, and so many more. However, it still didn’t lead to the ultimate success. They lost to the eventual champions West Germany in the round of 16 in 1990. Four years later they also lost to the eventual champions, falling to Brazil in the quarterfinals. In 1998 they made it one step further but lost to Brazil on penalties in the semifinals.

Since the turn of the century, the Dutch have made some more deep runs. In 2010, they made it all the way to the final for the third time in their history. They also lost the final for the third time in their history. It was an agonizing 1-0 loss in extra time to a Spain side that is regarded as one of the greatest teams ever assembled. The Netherlands made it back to the semifinals in the next World Cup but lost on penalties to Argentina.

Finally, their most recent World Cup was the last edition in 2022. They topped their group with two wins and a draw before dismantling the USMNT 3-1 in the round of 16. It was a familiar foe in the quarterfinals as the Oranje came up against Lionel Messi’s Argentina. In one of the best games in recent World Cup history, they lost on penalties after a crazy equalizer from Wout Weghorst in the 11th minute of stoppage time forced extra time.

Coach Profile: Ronald Koeman

Leading the Netherlands from the bench is experienced manager Ronald Koeman. Koeman is an Oranje legend as a player, leading his nation to their only major trophy by winning Euro 1988. He made 78 caps for the Dutch and scored 14 goals. Koeman is in his second stint as national team manager, with a break to manage Barcelona in between.

Koeman was appointed as manager of the Netherlands in 2018 after an 18 year career of coaching club teams. He replaced Dick Advocaat, the current Curaçao manager. Although Koeman didn’t manage the Oranje at any major tournaments in his first stint, he did help them qualify for the Euro 2020. That was their first time qualifying for a big tournament since the 2014 World Cup as they failed to reach Euro 2016 and the 2018 World Cup. He also led the Netherlands to the Nations League final in 2019, losing 1-0 to Portugal.

After an underwhelming year at Barcelona and some time off, Koeman returned to the national team in 2023. He changed their system back to a 4-3-3 and it paid dividends. The Dutch made it to the semifinals of Euro 2024 despite a poor group stage. They advanced to the knockouts as one of the best 3rd place teams but beat Romania 3-0 in the round of 16 and Türkiye 2-1 in the quarters. Their tournament came to an end with a 2-1 loss to England in extra time. It was the first time the Netherlands had reached the semifinals of a major tournament in 10 years and Koeman will be hoping he can repeat that feat this summer.

Group Stage Fixtures