The Netherlands national football team has represented the Netherlands in international men’s football matches since 1905. The men’s national team is controlled by the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB), the governing body of football in the Netherlands, which is part of UEFA. They are widely regarded as one of the best national teams in world football and widely regarded as one of the greatest national teams of all time. Netherlands Football History.
The team is colloquially known as Het Nederlands Elftal (The Dutch Eleven) or Oranje, after the House of Orange-Nassau and their distinctive orange jerseys. Informally the team, like the country itself, was called Holland. The fan club is known as Het Oranje Legioen.
FIFA World Cup
The Netherlands has participated in FIFA World Cups, appearing in the final three times (in 1974, 1978, and 2010). He has also appeared in ten UEFA European Championships, winning the 1988 tournament in West Germany. Additionally, the team won the bronze medal in the Olympic football tournament in 1908, 1912, and 1920. The Netherlands has a long-standing football rivalry with its neighbors Belgium and Germany.
The Netherlands played their first international match against Belgium in Antwerp on 30 April 1905. The players were selected by a five-member commission of the Dutch Football Association. After 90 minutes the score was 1-1. Because the match was a Coupe van den Abeele, it went into overtime, during which Eddy de Neve scored three times to make the score 4–1 to the Netherlands. Some historians attribute one of the goals scored to Willem Haslenk.
Summer Olympics
In 1908, the Netherlands competed in its first official tournament at the Summer Olympics in London. They took bronze after losing to Great Britain in the semi-finals, before defeating Sweden 2–0 in the bronze medal match. At the 1912 and 1920 Olympic Games, the Netherlands finished with bronze medals as they lost to Denmark and Belgium in the respective tournaments.
The Netherlands reached the semi-finals of the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris after wins over Romania and Ireland. In the semi-finals, they gave up a one-goal lead scored by Kees Pijl, lost 2–1 against Uruguay, and were relegated to the third-place play-off for the fourth time, losing to Sweden in a replay. They lost.
After a first-round exit at the 1928 Summer Olympics on home turf, he missed the first World Cup in 1930 due to the expense of traveling from Europe to South America. The team first participated in the FIFA World Cup in 1934 where they faced Switzerland.
After World War II
After World War II, the Netherlands qualified for only two international tournaments before the 1970s: the 1948 Summer Olympics in Great Britain and the 1952 Summer Olympics in Finland. They ended early, losing to the hosts in 1948 and to Brazil in 1952.
Guus Hiddink followed Van Gaal as manager for the Euro 2016 qualifying campaign. On June 29, 2015. The Netherlands finished fourth in their group, failing to qualify for the European Championships for the first time since 1984, and missing out on a major tournament for the first time since the 2002 World Cup.
UEFA Nations League
In February 2018, Advocate replaced Ronald Koeman on a contract until the summer of 2022. The Netherlands qualified for League A in the UEFA Nations League where they will qualify for the final four after a draw with Germany on the final matchday. France’s head-to-head record. The Netherlands defeated England in the semi-finals of the Nations League but lost 1–0 to Portugal in the final.
Euro 2020 Championship
The Netherlands qualified for the UEFA Euro 2020 Championship after a draw against Northern Ireland on 16 November 2019, marking their tenth appearance at the UEFA Euro Championship. After qualification, Ronald Koeman resigned from the team to coach FC Barcelona, eventually being replace by Frank de Boer.
Without Ronald Koeman in charge, the Netherlands struggled in the new Nations League season, joining Poland, Bosnia, and Herzegovina, and Italy. Holland won 1-0 at home courtesy of Steven Bergwijn after a tough game where Poland played a very defensive game against Holland. However, also at home, the Netherlands lost to Italy by the same score and lost their prime to the Italians.
Eventually, the Netherlands improved and secured important wins at home against Bosnia and against Poland, but a disappointing away draw for Bosnia proved crucial. Despite a strong showing in their final group match against Italy, the match in Bergamo ended in another draw. The Netherlands came within one point of promotion but ultimately failed to secure a ticket to the 2021 UEFA Nations League Finals. Netherlands Football History.
Netherlands National Football Team
At Euro 2020, the Netherlands played group matches at home at the Johan Cruyff Arena in Amsterdam. Beating Ukraine 3–2, Austria 2–0, and North Macedonia 3–0. However, the tournament once again ended in disappointment for the Netherlands. As they lost 2–0 to the Czech Republic in their round of 16 tie in Budapest. Following a red card for Matej de Light. Two days later de Boer resigned. He was replace by Louis van Gaal, who returned to take charge of the team in his third spell out of retirement. Netherlands Football History.
On 16 November 2021, the Netherlands qualified for the 2022 World Cup. After beating Norway 2–0 and topping their qualification group on the final day. It marked Holland’s return to the World Cup finals after being eliminate from the 2018 tournament. For more details click here