FIFA World Cup 2010 - Netherlands to take on the mighty Brazilian's to qualify for the Semi Finals
World Cup History:
Holland has always been an impressive side, when it came to the finals of the football World Cup. They have reached the World Cup finals eight times and this year they are making it the ninth. They have also found their way into the finals, for the Championship, in 1974 and 1978, but they have never won it all. In South Africa, the Dutch are reaching the Quarter finals after 10 years. They want the glory for the first time and will do anything to get it, even if it comes down to beating the best team in the world, Brazil.
Qualifying Stages:
The Dutch have been more than just “impressive” in their qualifying stages. They have outscored their opponents with a goal difference of 15 goals. They won all the eight matches, scored 17 goals in those eight matches, and conceded only 2. The Netherlands side has not lost a match since then, have won all the matches in the qualifying stage and the group stages, and defeated the Slovakian side to come on top and qualify for the quarter finals to face Brazil.
Performance in South Africa:
The Dutch have performed very well on the African soil and they were paired up with Denmark, Japan and Cameroon in a group in which they were considered to be the top favourites. Netherlands were the second team, after Argentina, to win all the matches in their group stages and topping their group by a landslide. They won all the three matches and had 9 points, with Japan scoring only 6 and Denmark with 3. Netherlands have an amazing strike force and play very quick football, as seen by the fans from around the World.
Strengths:
The Dutch side has a lot of strengths when it comes to playing football. They have an amazing strike force with Arsenal star, Robin Van Persie and the Munich’s best left footed winger, Arjen Robben included in their squad. They even have great midfielders to add pace into their game, they include Wesley Sneijder of Inter Milan and Van Der Vaart. The trio of Dirk Kuyt, Arjen Robben and Robin Van Persie, backed by the Inter Milan star, Wesley Sneijder, is just unstoppable and has been unstoppable so far as they have not lost one match while playing together. The Dutch also have a solid defence, resulting in less goals being scored against them during the qualifications, which were 2, and in the World Cup, the number has reached 4 for now.
Weaknesses:
The Dutch side does not have too many weaknesses while they are on the field; but, the inclusion of a new goalkeeper, after Van Der Saar, is the one on which the whole team cannot really count on. The new goalkeeper, Martin Sketelenburg, is a new comer to the starting eleven and he lacks experience, but this has hardly been a factor that has affected the Dutch. The young keeper is not much of a weakness, as he has not let too many goals in, while one came off a penalty shoot during a match against Slovakia.
Key Players:
As said before, about the striking force of the Dutch side, they are one of the best attacking sides playing in the FIFA World Cup 2010, after Diego Maradona’s side Argentina; who were criticized for bringing in four strikers on the field. The key players for the Dutch side include the Arsenal striker Robin Van Persie, who was injured during his season in the English league, but is definitely one of the best strikers in the world. On the other hand, they have a perfect right winger, Arjen Robben, who helped his club team reach the final of the Champion’s League. They also have Sneijder, who helped his team Inter Milan reach the final of the Champion’s league and actually won the crown. The two were on the opposite teams in that match, but they are playing in the same team during this World Cup and this is not really good news for their opponents.
Next Opponents:
The Netherlanders are set to face the best team in the World, Brazil. They are the most successful team in the world, when it comes to football. They are the only team that have appeared in all the FIFA World Cups and have actually won 5, which is a World record. This year round, Brazilians are no less than impressive but are suffering from a few injuries, including their key player, Elano. If there is one team that can neutralize the Dutch side at the moment, it is Brazil, followed by Argentina who is going to face the Germans in their quarter final stage.
Style of Play:
The Dutch play a very technical game this year round. First, they were only known for their attacking style of play, but this year they have perfected almost every department. They pass the ball around, make offside traps, give through ball and long balls to make a counter attack and defend really well as well. On the other hand, Dunga’s side is not lacking in any way. They are playing at the top of their game and haven’t lost any match of the tournament but drew against the Portuguese. We cannot really count the Brazilians out of this, since they have experience on their bench, including Gilberto Silva, who is the most experienced of them, followed by Kaka who is the star of Madrid at the moment. The Dutch will have to stop the way the Brazilians counter attack and need to beat their number 1 keeper, Julio Cesar who is actually a team mate of Wesley Sneijder, in Inter Milan.
Other Factors that must be considered:
There have been 18 World Cups so far, and the Europeans and the South Americans have won 9 a piece. South American teams, however, have won on any soil they have played on, where as the Europeans have never won the “glory” outside of Europe. Chile and Mexico, who actually suffered a loss to fellow South American teams, Brazil and Argentina, are the only two South American teams that have suffered a loss till now. Therefore, we cannot forget the fact that the cup is actually being hosted in Africa, which is outside of Europe where the Europeans have never actually won.
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