Netherlands at the 2022 World Cup: Fixtures, results, squad, scorers

Netherlands' World Cup Group A results

21 November: Senegal 0-2 Netherlands (Gakpo 84, Klaassen 90+9)
25 November: Netherlands 1-1 Ecuador (Gakpo 6; Valencia 49)
29 November: Netherlands 2-0 Qatar (Gakpo 26, De Jong 49)

Round of 16
3 December: Netherlands 3-1 United States (Depay 10, Blind 45+1, Dumfries 81; Wright 76)

Quarter-finals
9 December: Netherlands 2-2aet Argentina, Argentina won 4-3 on penalties (Weghorst 83 90+11; Molina 35, Messi 73pen)

Netherlands' final 26-player squad

Goalkeepers: Justin Bijlow, Remko Pasveer, Andries Noppert

Defenders: Daley Blind, Stefan de Vrij, Virgil van Dijk, Matthijs de Ligt, Denzel Dumfries, Nathan Aké, Jurriën Timber, Tyrell Malacia, Jeremie Frimpong

Midfielders: Frenkie de Jong, Steven Berghuis, Davy Klaassen, Marten de Roon, Teun Koopmeiners, Kenneth Taylor, Xavi Simons

Forwards: Memphis Depay, Luuk de Jong, Steven Bergwijn, Vincent Janssen, Wout Weghorst, Cody Gakpo, Noa Lang

How Netherlands qualified

Group G: W7 D2 L1 F33 A8

Türkiye 4-2 Netherlands
Netherlands 2-0 Latvia
Gibraltar 0-7 Netherlands
Norway 1-1 Netherlands
Netherlands 4-0 Montenegro
Netherlands 6-1 Türkiye
Latvia 0-1 Netherlands
Netherlands 6-0 Gibraltar
Montenegro 2-2 Netherlands
Netherlands 2-0 Norway

Top scorers: Memphis Depay (12 goals)

Netherlands coach: Louis van Gaal

The 71-year-old is one of the most recognisable and decorated coaches in the game. He led Ajax to the UEFA Cup in his first season at the helm in 1992 and scooped the UEFA Champions League three years later – the first of two successive finals in that competition. Silverware followed at Barcelona, AZ, Bayern and Manchester United, while the high point of his three spells as Netherlands coach came when he took them within a shoot-out of reaching the 2014 World Cup final.

Netherlands captain: Virgil van Dijk

The 31-year-old centre-back played for Groningen, Celtic and Southampton before making his name as one of the world's best defenders after joining Liverpool in 2018. Van Dijk has played in three UEFA Champions League finals, winning the decider in 2019 and earning the UEFA Men's Player of the Year award. A runner-up in the UEFA Nations League in 2019, he won his 50th cap in the World Cup opener.

Netherlands' World Cup history 

Most appearances: Wesley Sneijder (17)
Top scorer: Johnny Rep (7)
Best performance: Runners-up (1974, 1978, 2010)
2018 World Cup: Did not qualify

It remains a mystery how the Oranje have never claimed the trophy despite producing several generations of talented players and reaching three finals. They came closest when beaten in the decider by hosts West Germany in 1974 and Argentina next time around, while the all-conquering Spain side denied them in 2010. They have also reached two further semi-finals, losing both of those on penalty shoot-outs in 1998 and 2014.

Netherlands' EURO 2024 qualifying fixtures (Group B)

24/03/2023: France vs Netherlands
27/03/2023: Netherlands vs Gibraltar
07/09/2023: Netherlands vs Greece
10/09/2023: Republic of Ireland vs Netherlands
13/10/2023: Netherlands vs France
16/10/2023: Greece vs Netherlands
18/11/2023: Netherlands vs Republic of Ireland
21/11/2023: Gibraltar vs Netherlands