The is the national
Football team of the
Netherlands and is controlled by the
Royal Netherlands Football Association .
Netherlands is consistently one of
Europe's strongest national teams, having won the
European Championship in
1988 , and having reached two consecutive
World Cup finals, but losing both (
1974 and
1978 ). At the peak of its success in the 1970s, the team was nicknamed "Clockwork Orange" for its precise passing.
The Netherlands made their first World Cup appearance in
1934 , and after coming back in
1938 , entered the world of football wilderness. They came out of it in the
1970s with the invention of
Total Football . Pioneered by
Ajax Amsterdam and lead by the creative genius of
Johan Cruijff and
Rinus Michels , the Dutch made huge strides, getting to two World Cup finals in the decade. The team has been strong since, winning
Euro 88 , reaching the semi-finals in
Euro 92 ,
Euro 2000 and
Euro 2004 , and finishing fourth in the
1998 World Cup .
The Netherlands are considered by many to be the finest footballing nation never to win the
Football World Cup .
- 1930 - ''Did not enter''
- 1934 - Round 1
- 1938 - Round 1
- 1950 - ''Did not enter''
- 1954 - ''Did not enter''
- 1958 to 1970 - ''Did not qualify''
- 1974 - Runners-up
- 1978 - Runners-up
- 1982 - ''Did not qualify''
- 1986 - ''Did not qualify''
- 1990 - Round 2
- 1994 - Quarterfinals
- 1998 - Fourth place
- 2002 - ''Did not qualify''
- 2006 - Qualified
Provisional 33-man squad for
2006 FIFA World Cup , announced on 21st April 2006.
