Netherlands national football team

Netherlands

Nickname	Oranje
Association	Royal Netherlands Football Association (Koninklijke Nederlandse Voetbalbond)
Coach	Marco van Basten, 2004-
Most caps	Frank de Boer (112)
Top scorer	Patrick Kluivert (40)
Home colours Away colours
First international  Belgium 1 - 4 Netherlands (Antwerp, Belgium; 30 April 1905)
Largest win Netherlands 9 - 0 Norway (Rotterdam, Netherlands; 1 November 1972)
Worst defeat Netherlands 2 - 12 England Amateur (The Hague, Netherlands; 1 April 1907)
World Cup
Appearances	8 (First in 1934)
Best result	Runners-up, 1974 and 1978
European Championship
Appearances	7 (First in 1976)
Best result	Winners, 1988

The Netherlands national football team is the national football team of the Netherlands and is controlled by the Royal Netherlands Football Association.

Netherlands is one of the world'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 2006 World Cup.