Netherlands Matches at World Cup 2010

Netherlands World Cup Profile

After covering 16 nations out of the 32 participants, LiveSoccerTV.com continues its in-depth look on the teams that are placed in Group E, F, G, and H. Our first stop is in the Netherlands, Group E’s top seeds.

Netherlands – the country, the football

The Netherlands is a Northwestern European country bordered to the east by Germany, to the south by Belgium, and to the north and to the west by the North Sea. Being constituted of the Kingdom of the Netherlands’ major portion, the country is a parliamentary democratic constitutional monarchy.

Big cities such as Dordrecht, Haarlem, The Hague, Rotterdam (which contains the largest port in Europe), and Amsterdam characterize best this Dutch country. The Netherlands are often referred to as Holland. In truth, Holland (North and South Holland) is just a part of the Netherlands' twelve provinces.

The country has a total area of 41,526 km² which is populated by over 16.5 million inhabitants. On the football scene, the Netherlands’ national soccer team is mostly praised for playing ‘total football’.

However the ‘Oranje’, as they are called, have not managed to take full advantage of gifted players such as Ruud Van Nilsterooy, Patrick Kluivert, Johan Cruyff, or Marco Van Basten over the past. The Netherlands have never won the World Cup despite reaching the final twice in the 70s. It leaves the Oranje with only one sweet cup glory in their entire history of football; their 1988 European Championship triumph will forever be cherished in the hearts of the country’s club and people.

Now however, the Netherlands' desire will be to convert their remarkable progress and skills into nothing else but cup success. The Dutch would love to be playing in the final of the FIFA World Cup and win at the end of all proceedings, on July 11,  in order to send the prestigious gold and green trophy back home.

Netherlands – the road to the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa

Drawn in the last group in the UEFA European World Cup qualification zone, the Netherlands were along side Norway, Iceland, Macedonia, and Scotland. In fact, Group 9 only comprised 5 countries instead of 6 like all the other eight groups. It somehow put more pressure on the table’s runners-up to be among the best 8 that would therefore qualify into the play-offs.

Anyway, toping Group 9 was the Netherlands’ priority and they didn’t fail to complete their task. On September 10, of the year 2008, the Netherlands kicked off their qualification campaign with a match away to Macedonia at the Philip II Arena stadium in Skopje.

Defender John Heitinga scored the Netherlands' first goal in the qualifiers before Van der Vaart doubled the Oranje’s lead as they rolled on to a 2-1 win against the hosts. A month after, the Netherlands welcomed Iceland in Rotterdam and expectedly beat the visitors 2-0; both goals were scored by different players (Mathijsen and Huntelaar) in each half.

On October 15, the battle looked more of a contest as the Netherlands clashed up against Norway in Oslo in front of 23,840 fans. However, Van Bommel rose up to the challenge with a 62nd minute goal which earned the Netherlands three vital points.

On March 28 last year, Holland hosted Scotland and profited of the visitors weaknesses to thrash them 3-0. Huntelaar, Van Persie, and Kuyt were all on target as the home side ended the first part of their qualification campaign with a 100% record.

With four wins on the trot in the World Cup qualifiers and three consecutive clean sheets, the spirits of the Dutch were flying high. The Netherlands were aiming to impose themselves as one of the best football nations on the planet and they proved their worth against Macedonia at the Amsterdam Arena on April 1, 2009.

The Netherlands recorded another clean sheet and fired four goals at the other end of the field to beat Macedonia 4-0. Liverpool’s Kuyt earned a brace, and Huntelaar grabbed his third goal of the campaign, while midfielder Van der Vaart rounded up the victory two minutes from normal time to clinch his second goal in the qualifiers.

The Netherlands seemed unstoppable. When the 2010 World Cup qualification campaign resumed in June, the Oranje continued their perfect run with 2-1 and 2-0 wins away to Iceland and at home to Norway respectively.

In September 2009, the Netherlands thrashed Scotland’s hopes of qualifying into the play-offs by beating them 1-0 in Glasgow. Eljero Elia’s goal on 82 minutes and a clean sheet at the other end of the field played the trick on the depressed Scottish who had to witness the Netherlands ending the qualifiers with a perfect record.

Unity and skill had successfully sent the Netherland’s national team of football into the finals of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Dutch supporters are now dreaming of filling the streets and the stadiums in South Africa with the orange color until the end of the football fiesta.

Netherlands – 2010 FIFA World Cup group stages

The Netherlands safely cruised into South Africa 2010 and their excellent style of play earned them a lot of praise from the public and valuable recognition from FIFA who included them as top seeds ahead of the draws for the group stages of the competition. In last December's FIFA 2010 World Cup draws, the Netherlands were chosen in Group E along with the likes of Cameroon, Denmark, and Japan.

Match-day One: Netherlands vs Denmark

On June 14, the Netherlands will play their first match at the World Cup in South Africa. The Oranje will take on Denmark at the Soccer City in Johannesburg at 13:30 South African local time. The Dutch might be tipped as favorites to beat their Danish counterparts and thus commence their 2010 World Cup campaign on a brilliant tone.

However, Denmark will try and embarrass the Netherlands just as they upset 2006 World Cup semi-finalists Portugal in the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifiers. Like the Netherlands, Denmark clinched automatic qualification for South Africa 2010; it tells us that the Oranje might not find much relaxation when they face them on match-day one of the tournament.

Match-day Two: Netherlands vs Japan

The Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban will host the Netherlands vs Japan on June 19, when match-day two of the 2010 World Cup tournament gets underway. The Netherland have the advantage over the Asians considering the size of their squad in terms of names and experience.

This match should see the Netherlands grab all three points but as long as football is not based on paper analyses, everything could happen. For the Dutch, failing to beat Japan might affect them mentally as the Oranje already dream of meeting the likes of elites such as Brazil, Italy, or maybe Spain further in the tournament. This game is scheduled to start at 13:30 South African local time as well.

Match-day Three: Cameroon vs Netherlands

For the first time in the tournament, the Netherlands will play as an away team; that will be when they come up against Cameroon in Cape Town on the last match-day of the group stages. Four years ago, the Netherlands met an African team (Ivory Coast) in the first round of the World Cup and controversially beat them 2-1 in the end.

But the Oranje will remember how difficult it proved to be to steal the three points, so lessons learned are expected to be applied against Cameroon on June 24. The match is scheduled to start at 18:30 GMT at the Cape Town Stadium.

Netherlands – 2010 FIFA World Cup squad

Goalkeepers:

Michel Vorm; Maarten Stekelenburg; Sander Boschker

Defenders:

Gregory van der Wiel; Giovanni van Bronckhorst; Andre Ooijer; Joris Mathijsen; John Heitinga; Edson Braafheid; Khalid Boulahrouz

Midfielders:

Rafael van der Vaart; Mark van Bommel; Wesley Sneijder; Stijn Schaars; Demy de Zeeuw; Nigel de Jong; Ibrahim Afellay

Forwards:

Robin van Persie; Arjen Robben; Dirk Kuyt; Klaas Jan Huntelaar; Eljero Elia; Ryan Babel

Netherlands – Expectations from the country and the men to watch

Playing to win the World Cup trophy is the aim of the Netherlands’ national soccer team. The country have struggled to impose themselves on the international stage, with a fourth place finish at the World Cup being their best record in the past two decades.

The Netherlands have shown a lot of hunger lately and it was probably a bad day that saw their wonderful run cut short by Russia at the 2008 European Championships. The Oranje have the ability to beat some of the world’s most decorated teams and they showed that by defeating both Italy and France in Euro 2008.

But one might argue about the weakness of Italy and France in that particular tournament. So to engrave their mark in the history books, the Netherlands will need to outshine the rest in their bright orange kits at the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

Looking at the Netherlands national football team, some names are poised to come out and make the difference.

Robin Van Persie

If he gets to feature for the Netherlands during the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, then Robin Van Persie could turn out to become one of the Netherlands' most influential players. The attacker is one of the English Premier League’s finest footballer but his career has lately been shattered by a long term injury.

There might be concerns over how Van Persie will adjust and perform during the World Cup. However, if his health presents no worries come June, then expect the striker to dazzle in front of goal. Robin Van Persie will be driven by his desire to be recognized as one of the world's best players.

Wesley Sneijder

The former Real Madrid and current Inter Milan player is set to impose himself as one of the world’s best midfielders. Wesley Sneijder is positive in his thinking on the field of play and his ability to push the game forward should very much benefit the Oranje.

Sneijder can also be spectacular with great goals; goalkeepers might not want to deal with his long range shots so they'll hope that the midfielder underperforms. Well, opponents will have to bear in mind that the 2010 UEFA Champions League winner looks set to add more silverware and medals to what he already has in his cabinet.

Arjen Robben

He claims he cannot and is not in the class of Lionel Messi. But your eyes will tell you something else. Arjen Robben is the second fastest footballer on the planet after Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo. His quick feet perform wonders.

He disturbs defenders with his trademark runs as he drifts from the wings, cuts into the penalty area, and lashes his shots much to the dislike of goalkeepers. Arjen Robben's health is fragile though, but if he can put his injury worries behind, then expect him to contend as the most outstanding player of the 2010 FIFA World Cup tournament.

Netherlands – Relevant quote

Netherlands coach, Bert van Marwijk: “We can beat everyone”

“We’re probably seen as favorites. However, the group is going to be very difficult for us. […] But we know that if our strongest team is available, and if everyone is in form, then we can beat everyone.

“We need to have the right form, the right mentality… you’ve got to have confidence in yourself though you should not be arrogant.”

Netherlands – FIFA World Cup record

Despite all the great names that the Netherlands have had in the past, the country has never managed to win the World Cup trophy.

Here is the Netherlands’ FIFA World Cup record:

2010: Qualified

2006, 1990: Round of 16

1998: Fourth Place

1994: Quarter-finals

1978,1974: Runners-up

1938, 1934: Round 1

Remain with LiveSoccerTV.com throughout the 2010 FIFA World Cup tournament as the site will feed you with all you might need to keep yourself updated with the Netherlands' progress!


 

Netherlands World Cup Videos

• Jul/02/2010 Netherlands vs Brazil (2 - 1)
• Jun/28/2010 Netherlands vs Slovakia (2 - 1)
• Jun/19/2010 Netherlands vs Japan (1 - 0)