EURO 2024: Will history repeat itself for the Netherlands national team?
Participating in the tournament held in Germany this summer, the Netherlands national team aims to replicate the achievement of their predecessors at EURO 1988.
Heading into EURO 2024, Ronald Koeman's Netherlands team wasn't highly rated by experts in terms of their chances of winning the tournament. Simply put, the team nicknamed "the Orange Tornado" had lost its standing recently, especially after missing out on the 2022 World Cup.
Not only have their results declined, but the Dutch national team also lacks a truly high-quality squad. Currently, coach Ronald Koeman has many players who are relatively unknown to international football fans. Furthermore, their brightest star, Frankie de Jong, is sidelined with injury.
It's clear that after the generation of Wesley Sneijder, Arjen Robben, Robin Van Persie, etc., Dutch football has fallen into a very serious crisis. Players like Virgil Van Dijk, Matthijs De Ligt, Frankie de Jong, and Memphis Depay have been unable to shoulder the responsibilities left behind by their predecessors.
Therefore, most experts and fans of the Dutch national team did not dare believe that coach Ronald Koeman's team would achieve anything significant at EURO 2024. This is because, compared to contenders like England, France, Germany, Portugal, Italy, and Spain, the "Orange Tornado" is still a notch below in terms of class.
However, in football, nothing is certain. Being considered the underdog doesn't mean that the EURO 2024 championship is out of reach for coach Ronald Koeman's team. Don't forget that in the past, the Netherlands national team has often had good fortune in tournaments held in Germany.
To date, the 1988 European Championship is the only major title won by the Netherlands national team. It's worth noting that this tournament was hosted by Germany. Additionally, at the 1974 World Cup, also hosted by Germany, the Netherlands finished as runners-up (losing to Germany in the final).
At EURO 2024, the Netherlands national team is in Group D, which also includes the national teams of France, Poland, and Austria.
In their opening match, coach Ronald Koeman's team will face the Polish national team, led by superstar Robert Lewandowski, at Volksparkstadion at 8 PM on June 16th.
Let's wait and see if history will repeat itself with the "Orange Tornado"?
