The Netherlands failed to qualify for the World Cup 2002 in South Korea and Japan. So the team was all the more motivated to make it to the tournament in Germany four years later. And it dazzled its way through the qualifiers with not one defeat. Instead, 10 wins and two draws speak a clear language. The "Oranje" team could also win the top spot in Group 1, putting its strongest group rival, the Czech Republic, in its place. In the end, it beat the Czechs at home in Prague outright with 2:0.
History:
The Netherlands is participating in the World Cup for the eighth time.
1934: Round of 16, 1938: Round of 16, 1974: Runner-up, 1978: Runner-up, 1990: Round of 16, 1994: Quarter-finals, 1998: Fourth place
Netherland is home land of many great playe like Johan Cruyff and Johan Neeskens.
Stars: Beginning from goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar up to the strikers, the positions in the Dutch team are roughly equally strong. In attack, Arjen Robben and goalscorer Ruud van Nistelrooy, who both play in the English league, certainly stick out. The fact that even a top striker like Bayern Munich's Roy Makaay doesn't have a regular spot on this international team speaks volumes.
Netherlands and Nepalese Fans:
Holland is much famous among the nepalese fan.The people were much unhappy when team was not able to get into world cup 2002.The international player of the holland have been playing the the major leagues where they have earned many nepalese Fans.Holland will one of the favorite of the Nepalese People to touch the WC2006.
Match Schedule: Preliminary Round
June 11, 2006: Serbia and Montenegro -- Netherlands in Leipzig
June 16, 2006: Netherlands -- Côte d'Ivoire in Stuttgart
June 21, 2006: Netherlands -- Argentina in Frankfurt
Squad:
Goalkeepers: Edwin van der Sar (Manchester United), Maarten Stekelenburg (Ajax), Henk Timmer (AZ Alkmaar). Defenders: Kew Jaliens (AZ Alkmaar), Jan Kromkamp (Liverpool), Andre Ooijer (PSV Eindhoven), John Heitinga (Ajax), Khalid Boulahrouz (Hamburg), Joris Mathijsen (AZ Alkmaar), Giovanni van Bronckhorst (Barcelona), Tim de Cler (AZ Alkmaar). Midfielders: Mark van Bommel (Barcelona), Philip Cocu (PSV Eindhoven), Denny Landzaat (AZ Alkmaar), Hedwiges Maduro (Ajax), Wesley Sneijder (Ajax), Rafael van der Vaart (Hamburg). Strikers: Dirk Kuijt (Feyenoord), Ruud van Nistelrooy (Manchester United), Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink (PSV Eindhoven), Arjen Robben (Chelsea), Robin van Persie (Arsenal), Ryan Babel (Ajax), Eydoon Zandi (Kaiserslautern), Ali Karimi (Bayern Munich), Mehrzad Madanchi (Persepolis), Javad Kazemian (Persepolis). Forwards: Ali Daei (Saba Battery), Vahid Hashemian (Hannover 96), Reza Enayati (Esteghlal Teheran), Arash Borhani (Pas), Masoud Shojai (Saipa), Rasoul Khatibi (Sepahan Isfahan).
Bottom line: The "Oranje" team has to date always reached the round of 16 at least. This is certainly not too much to expect at the World Cup in Germany, too. But the Dutch want more, namely the World Cup title. Trainer Marco van Basten has at any rate expressed this goal. Is it possible? The last time a Dutch team played in a World Cup final was in 1978. It lost against Argentina 1:3. At the World Cup in Germany four years earlier they also lost to Germany.Since then the Dutch have waited in vain for another chance to compete in the final. Frequently among the favourites for the FIFA World Cup, Holland have repeatedly failed to live up to their promise.
Some facts and recent developments:
They have beaten the Czech Republic(currently number 2nd ranked team) 2-0 in Amsterdam in qualifying round.
They were defeated in semi-final at UEFA EURO 2004.
Holland have taken part in the FIFA World Cup™ qualifiers 14 times and have won through to the finals on seven of those occasions
Coach: With Marco van Basten, a former striker superstar is coaching the Dutch team. Van Basten enjoys the respect of his charges already through his successful time as a player. He was European champion with the Dutch team in 1988 and one of the most dangerous forwards in Europe. He succeeded Dick Advocaat as trainer, who stepped down following sharp criticism of his work after the European Cup in 2004. Van Basten can send a homogenous team onto the field. Alongside old hands, he has carefully integrated several young players like Arjen Robben, Wesley Sneijder, or Rafael van der Vaart into the team.
Marco van Basten
The ducth football came in to light when they reached semi final of WC 1998 where they were narrowly beaten by brazi.However they were not able to follow thier good work and even failed to qualify for the world cup four years later.However the teams seems to be re united together.
The "Oranje" are one of the World Cup's most enigmatic teams. The Dutch regularly produce teams of exceptional skill and attacking prowess but have yet to win the greatest prize.
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Team Profile 
Netherlands Football Team 
