Netherlands

The World Cup runners-up head to the Euros after a convincing campaign, during which the Dutch climbed to the top of the FIFA World rankings. After winning nine consecutive qualifying matches, assuring their ticket to Ukraine, they have had time to experiment meaning they are now only ranked a mere 4th. A loss to Sweden in their final qualifying match and a 3-0 beating by Germany in a recent friendly are their only two disappointments since their 1-0 defeat by Spain in Johannesburg. The Dutch were the top scorers in qualifying with an astonishing 37 goals in 10 games. Admittedly their record 11-0 win against the might of San Marino helped, but the Dutch still managed to beat second place Sweden 4-1 and third place finishers Hungary 5-3 and 4-0. They also had the best goals/shot ratio in the qualifiers with 37 goals from 144 shots (83 of which were on target). Their ratio of 2.243 of shots that were on target being converted to goals was only bettered by, surprisingly, England at 2.235. Naturally therefore we can expect some exciting football from the Orange Army this summer. They have a wealth of creative players who ply their trade across Europe’s best leagues and who, historically, do well at the Euros. It is only fitting therefore that we start by looking at the strike force of the Netherlands. Robin van Persie. Need I say more? He has been a goalscoring machine this season, notching an incredible 35 goals for Arsenal. Add 14 assists to that tally and it means out of the 90 goals the Gunners have scored this season Van Persie has played a fundamental role in 49 of them. In fairness to Van Persie, his finishing has never been questioned, only injuries have prevented him from reaching these heights before. And it was injuries that meant he only represented the Netherlands six times during qualifying. He still scored six goals mind. Klaas-Jan Huntelaar was the overall top scorer in qualifying with 12 goals. The Schalke striker has scored 31 goals in 50 games for the Netherlands and yet, astonishingly, still may end up on the bench. The current head coach of the Netherlands Bert van Marwijk will probably play a 4-2-3-1 formation. The one spot up front means that Huntelaar may only be used as a substitute behind Van Persie. In qualifying injuries to frail members of the squad helped Huntelaar keep his place but if everyone has a clean bill of health it may be a bench warming summer for the Dutchman. But when you see who the other attacking three players are, you understand why. Arjen Robben, Wesley Sneijder and Dirk Kuyt are the Dutch creative dynamos. Robben’s trickery, Sneijder’s vision and Kuyt’s energy combine to form an artwork in goals. Robben has helped Bayern to the Champions League final whereas, admittedly, Sneijder has not had his best season for Inter Milan. However both are potentially two of the greatest Dutch midfielders ever. Fans of the Premier League may be slightly surprised to see Kuyt’s automatic inclusion but when you consider that he was the joint 7th top scorer in qualifying and also joint 3rd on assists it is clear that he plays an important role in Bert van Marwijk’s starting eleven. To combat the creative talent on show two men are charged with disrupting opposition play, enter the fray the much loved pair of Nigel de Jong and Dutch captain Mark van Bommel. Potentially two of the hardest tacklers in the game parole the middle of the park clattering opponents like we witnessed in the World Cup final. It may please you to know that only the Republic of Ireland can field a player who committed more fouls in qualifying than van Bommel. It may not please you to know that despite this he never received one booking. Dirty they may be, but they are effective. Replacing one of these tenacious players with Huntelaar may leave the Netherlands too exposed at the back. Rafael van der Vaart and PSV youngster Kevin Strootman may also feel slightly aggrieved spending the majority of summer on a bench. At the back Everton’s John Heitinga will play a leading role, alongside Malaga’s Joris Mathijsen and PSV’s Erik Pieters. Ajaz’s Gregory van der Wiel has the task of replacing the legendary Giovanni van Bronckhorst and has been labelled the new Michael Reiziger. Maarten Stekelenburg will no doubt be in goal. The Netherlands have a tough group to contend with. Group B contains Germany, Portugal and Denmark. The Flying Dutchman beat Denmark 2-0 in the previous World Cup but in Germany 2006 they lost to Portugal 1-0 in the last 16 in a fiery encounter that ended with 16 bookings and 4 red cards. The game against the Germans will be no less competitive. However, with the attacking presence that the Dutch possess I think they will too strong for Portugal and Denmark. Once out of the groups anything can happen. But I would not be surprised to see the final match in Kiev to contain a sea of orange.