Netherlands national football team profile

The Netherlands national football team is the national football team of the Netherlands. It is controlled by the Royal Netherlands Football Association.It is won Euro '88 and reached two consecutive World Cup finals in 1974 and 1978, but lost both finals to their respective host nations, West Germany and Argentina.At the peak of its success in the 1970s, the team was famous for its mastery of Total Football.It is currently ranked fourth in the FIFA World Rankings and third in the World Football Elo Ratings.
Contents.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.The Netherlands made their first appearance at the World Cup final tournament in 1934, and after coming back in 1938, the Dutch national team entered the wilderness of world football.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. The Dutch were trying to embarrass the Germans at home while they were only up 1–0. This would prove their undoing. Supported by the crowd, a converted penalty by Paul Breitner and the winner from Gerd Müller led to a victory for the Germans. In spite of losing the final, the Clockwork Oranje and Johan Cruyff had already written a new page in football's history.In 1978, the Netherlands again reached the final of a World Cup, only to be again beaten by the hosts, Argentina.Euro '80 was the last tournament that the generation of Total Football qualified for, 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.
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 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.
Provisional squad list:GK Sander BOSCHKER,GK Maarten STEKELENBURG,GK Michel VORM,Ibrahim AFELLAY,Vurnon ANITA,Ryan BABEL,Otman BAKKAL,Khalid BOULAHROUZ,Edson BRAAFHEID,Wout BRAMA Nigel DE JONG,Demy DE ZEEUW,Eljero ELIA,Orlando ENGELAAR,John HEITINGA,Klaas Jan HUNTELAAR,Dirk KUYT,Jeremain LENS,Joris MATHIJSEN,David MENDES DA SILVA,Andre OOIJER,Arjen ROBBEN,Stijn SCHAARS,Wesley SNEIJDER,Mark VAN BOMMEL,Giovanni VAN BRONCKHORST,Rafael VAN DER VAART,Gregory VAN DER WIEL,Robin VAN PERSIE,Ron VLAAR.