How Has The Netherlands Performed in Previous World Cups?
Holland is amongst the top performing European nations in the World Cup, though they have yet to win the trophy. The Dutch team has reached the World Cup finals three times, but unfortunately, they lost all of them.
In the early years of the World Cup, the Netherlands entered the competition in 1934 and 1938, though in both instances they crashed out after the first game. After not entering and failing to qualify for 30 years, the Netherlands would play in the World Cup again in 1974. The 1974 World Cup was hosted by West Germany, and the Netherlands were placed in a group with Bulgaria, Sweden and Bulgaria. Led by captain Johan Cruyff, the Dutch team won their group and then topped the second group, which consisted of Argentina, Brazil and East Germany. Heading to the finals, they played the hosts, West Germany. The Dutch team took an early lead after converting a penalty in the 2nd minute, but then the Germans were awarded a penalty in the 25th minute, which they also successfully converted. West Germany scored one more goal in the first half, and then neither team could score in the second, giving Germany the title.
In 1978, the Netherlands qualified for the World Cup again and were put into a group with Scotland, Peru, and Iran. By 1978, their key player Johan Cruyff had retired, but this did not stop the Dutch team from advancing to the second round where they played in a group against Italy, West Germany and Austria. The Netherlands drew against Germany but beat the other two teams comfortably, to win a place in the finals, where they met the host nation Argentina. Argentina took the lead just before the end of the first half, but Holland managed to equalise in the 82nd minute. The match finished in a draw after regular time and went into extra time. Argentina score a goal in the last minute of the first half of extra time, and then in the second half of extra time they scored another goal to put the score at 3-1. The match ended and Argentina won the World Cup, whilst Holland took home their second place medals, for a second year in a row.
During the 80s, the Netherlands did not qualify for the two World Cup tournaments and they only returned to the competition in 1990. They made it past the group stage but were knocked out by West Germany in the round of the last 16. The 90s saw one of the best Dutch teams in history, including the likes of Ronald Koeman, Frank Rijkaard, Dennis Bergkamp, Edwin van der Sar, and later Patrick Kluivert, Edgar Davids, Clarence Seedorf and Jaap Stam.
In 1994, the Dutch team won their group and then beat the Republic of Ireland in the round of the 16. They faced Brazil in the quarterfinals, where the fairy-tale ended as the eventual World Cup winners won 3-2. In 1998, the Dutch team returned to the World Cup and once again topped their group. They beat Yugoslavia and Argentina to make it to the semi-finals, where they met Brazil again. This time, the match ended in a draw, and then after no winner could be decided in the two periods of extra time, the game went to penalties. Here, the Brazilian team beat Holland, and again they went on to win the World Cup.
The Dutch team had all but retired by the 2000s, but 10 years later a new generation of Dutch players came onto the scene. This team included players such as Robin van Persie, Wesley Sneijder, Arjen Robben, Rafael van der Vaart, and many more. In the 2010 World Cup that was held in South Africa, Holland topped their group and then beat Slovakia to advance to the quarterfinals, where they met Brazil once again. This time the Dutch took their revenge to send out the favourites and advance to the semi-finals. They faced two time World Cup winners Uruguay, whom they beat 3-2 to secure a place in the final, for the first time in 32 years. Facing Spain, neither team could score during regular time, and in extra time, 5 minutes before the game would go to penalties, the Spanish scored to clinch the World Cup title.
In 2014, the Dutch team returned to the World Cup and made it all the way to the semi-finals, where they faced Argentina. The score ended level after both regular time and extra time, so the game went to penalties. The Argentinians won the game, and then Holland faced Brazil in the third place playoff. They beat Brazil 3-0 to finish third place.
Holland's Qualification Route to the World Cup
After narrowly missing out on qualifying for the 2018 World Cup, the Netherlands replaced their manager with former player Ronald Koeman. Koeman helped guide the Netherlands through a successful UEFA World Cup qualification campaign. The Dutch team won 7 out of a possible 10 games, scoring 33 goals and only conceding 8 goals. Koeman left Holland to manage Barcelona in 2020, and another former legend, Frank de Boer, was put in charge. De Boer was replaced with one of the most successful managers in Dutch history, Louis van Gaal in 2021. Previously, van Gaal had two stints managing the Dutch team in 2000-02, and 2012-14, leading his team to a third place finish in the World Cup of 2014.
Holland’s World Ranking
After their unsuccessful campaign in 2018, the Netherlands sat at 14th place in the World Rankings in 2020, at the start of the qualifiers. With their impressive performances, the Dutch team managed to climb up to 8th place, ahead of teams such as Portugal and Germany.
Which Footballers Play for Holland?
The Dutch teams that have had great runs in previous World Cups all had squads filled with great players. The 2022 World Cup looks no different, and the Dutch team this year is easily amongst the top teams taking part in the tournament.
The first choice Dutch keeper is Jasper Cillessen, but they can also use Tim Krul, who became the first goalkeeper to be substituted on for a penalty shootout in World Cup history, when he was brought on against Costa Rica in the 2014 quarterfinals. Krul saved 2 out of the 5 penalties to win the game for Holland.
In defence, the Dutch captain and Liverpool key defender Virgil van Dijk will lead the line. Alongside him, there is a huge wealth of options for manager van Gaal to choose from such as Matthijs de Ligt, Nathan Ake, Daley Blind, Stefan de Vrij, and more.
Georginio Wijnaldum, Frenkie de Jong, Donny Van de Beek, Davy Klassen and Steven Berghuis are all talented midfielders who can keep possession and supply the Dutch forwards with some dangerous balls.
In attack, the key man for the Netherlands is Memphis Depay, and they can field players such as Steven Bergwijkn, Vincent Janssen, Luuk de Jong and the highly rated youngster Donyell Malen next to him.
How to Bet on Holland at the World Cup
If you want to bet on Holland, or your favourite Dutch players, then you have plenty of options. There is a massive range of bets that can be placed on every World Cup game that Holland play in. These will include player props, such as which Dutch player will open the scoring and whether a Dutch player will score two goals during a matc. In addition to player props, there may also be bets on a Dutch player’s overall achievements in the World Cup. You may find bets on Dutch players to win the golden boot or golden ball, or even bet on the keeper to win the golden glove.
Golden Boot Bet
This award is given to the player with the most goals at the end of the tournament. It goes without saying that the further a team reaches, the more likely their top goal scorer will win the golden boot. Memphis Depay is the leading goalscorer in the current team, and he is in fine form at Barcelona. He will be amongst the favourite to win the golden boot.
Golden Ball Bet
The golden ball is given to the most influential player in the World Cup. Whilst the Netherlands is very much a team, there are a couple of players who stand out. Van Dijk and Depay can both inspire their team to win games. It is difficult to pick between the two though, as Depay is a striker who can score goals, whilst van Dijk is a defender, and to this date, there has never been a golden ball awarded to a defender.
Other Bets
You can also bet on the success of the Dutch team as a whole. For instance, you could bet on them to top their group, to reach the quarterfinals, reach the semi-finals, the final, and to win the World Cup. In other words, you can bet on every eventuality.