The Netherlands go into the World Cup as one of the favorites and will be expected to go as far as possible
There has been a good feeling around Dutch football in recent months. The effect of winning can never be underestimated.
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The Netherlands come into this World Cup riding high. They qualified for the Nations League finals, to be played next year after topping their group after a 1-0 victory over Belgium thanks to a Virgil van Dijk goal.
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Road to Qatar
The Netherlands finished top of their World Cup qualifying group with seven wins, two draws and just one defeat. That solitary defeat came against Turkey in the first group game, a match they lost 4-2.
They responded with a 2-0 home win against Latvia and an emphatic 7-0 trouncing of Gibraltar. After a 1-1 draw with Norway, the Oranje took further control of the group thanks to huge wins against Montenegro and Turkey.
Recent World Cup performances
Failure to qualify for the 2018 World Cup was a huge blow to Dutch football and brought about the need for a reset at all levels. Even more shocking considering the fact that eight years prior to that, they reached the World Cup final in South Africa, losing 1-0 to Spain after extra-time.
Then Netherlands did, however, perform admirably in the 2014 World Cup in Brazil where they won all of their group matches, on the road to a third place finish.
World Cup squad
Take a look at the Dutch national team World Cup squad here
Star Players
Virgil Van Dijk
The Liverpool defensive anchor is a huge factor the Oranje. His performances are usually tied to the success or failure of this team. His ability to make perfectly timed interceptions and interventions is priceless. He also had a knack for scoring important goals.
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Memphis Depay
Memphis Depay has been the talisman for his Country for a while now. He has scored 34 goals and provided 23 assists in his last 47 international matches.
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His Country will rely on him to provide the fire power to take them all the way.
The Coach
Louis van Gaal has the chance to become the coach with the most wins for the Dutch national team. At the moment he is tied with Dick Advocaat on 37, although Advocaat took four games more to reach that number.
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Earlier this year Van Gaal revealed that he has had an aggressive form of prostate cancer since 2020. He explained how he had been sneaking away from the Dutch training camps to have radiotherapy. He also said he felt well enough to take the team to the World Cup and that the players give him energy.
Group Fixtures
Netherlands vs Senegal - 21, November. 5pm.
Netherlands vs Ecuador - 25, November. 4pm
Netherlands vs Qatar - 29, November. 3pm
The Netherlands odds to win the tournament is set at 13.00 by the bookies giving them the 8th best chance to win
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