Netherlands – Squad, fixtures, odds and predictions

Netherlands – Euro 2024 Overview

The Netherlands are a proud football nation with a rich history of success at international level. The team is known for its technical prowess, tactical brilliance and passion for the game. Despite not winning an international title since Euro 1988, they have always been a force to be reckoned with in major championships.

After an early exit from Euro 2020, the Dutch soccer giants bounced back in Qatar where they reached the quarter-finals and were a penalty shoot-out away from knocking out eventual world champions Argentina.

Before the start of the European Championship, the Netherlands are not among the biggest favourites, however, they have some quality players and their record in the Euros and the World Cup. This means that they cannot be underestimated and are capable of making a run deep into the tournament. They have been drawn in Group D against France, Austria and the play-off winners from Path A, Poland.

For further details on Euro 2024 as a whole check out our tournament preview.

How the Netherlands qualified for Euro 2024

The Dutch made it to the finals of Euro 2024 in Germany via a second place EC qualifying group B where they were drawn against France, who, as it happens, they will also face in the finals. The French won the group with a four point lead over the Netherlands. The points tally for Ronald Koeman’s side was 18 from eight matches.

Their dropped points came in the two matches against the French, with two defeats, 4-0 away and 2-1 at home going alongside six victories. Other than those two defeats to France, the Netherlands were watertight at the back, with no goals conceded in their six wins.The Dutch shared the goals around during the qualifying campaign with Cody Gakpo, Calvin Stengs and Wout Weghorst each finding the net three times.  

Netherlands Euro 2024 squad

Ronald Koeman, one of the greats of Dutch football, will try to lead his national team to new successes. Koeman is known for his distinctive footballing philosophy which combines technically proficient play with a strong emphasis on tactical discipline and teamwork. A central part of Koeman’s philosophy is to foster the individual talent and creativity of players while working within the team’s structure and tactical framework. He also values ​​the defensive side of the game and emphasises the importance of all players contributing to the team’s defensive effort, often with pressing from the front.

In the Dutch Euro 2024 squad, there is a healthy mix of youth and experience. Senior players include the defensively strong and versatile Daley Blind, Virgil van Dijk, who is having a superb season for Liverpool and Stefan de Vrij, while Ryan Gravenberch, Matthijs de Ligt and Xavi Simons stand out as three younger stars who are capable of making an impact.

Koeman has a large number of quality players to choose from, however, in terms of challenging to win the tournament the attack might not be quite potent enough. And, despite keeping six clean sheets in qualifying, since the retirement of Edwin van der Sar, no goalkeeper has really made the position their own.

Key players

Here we have listed three of the key players in the Dutch Euro 2024 squad

• Virgil van Dijk – The Liverpool defender remains the key defensive player in the Dutch national team, and if they are to go far in the Championship, he will be absolutely crucial. Van Dijk has been a stable and reliable presence in the Dutch defence and his leadership and ability to organize the defense has been crucial to the team’s success on several occasions. He has been fantastic for Liverpool this season and is playing as well, if not better, than ever before.
• Frenkie de Jong – Barcelona midfielder De Jong is a key player for club and country. His strengths include his exceptional ball control and ability to dictate play from midfield with his excellent distribution. He is a skilled dribbler and has the ability to get past opponents with elegance and finesse. In addition, he is a reliable defensive midfielder with the ability to win balls and read the game.
• Wout Weghorst – Weghorst is an important part of Koeman’s team structure. As well as being technically excellent, the Dutch posses strong physical players who are good in the air, if whoch Weghorst is one. International football seems to suit Weghorst and he consistently performs well for Holland. Koeman will probably give Weghorst a lot of game time, such is his consistency and his ability to offer something different.

The Netherlands Odds at Euro 2024

The Netherlands are strongly fancied to qualify for the last 16 however, they are classed as outsiders to win the group, given that they had no answer to the French during the qualifying campaign. As far as winning the tournament is concerned, the Netherlands are a good outside bet. They do not have the same amount of quality as some of the more fancied sides, such as England, France, Germany and Spain, however, they have a superbly organised backline and technically good, well drilled players who can be competitive against the best. Their record in the Euros is very strong and, while other teams deserve to have shorter odds, the Dutch cannot be written off.

The Netherlands’ Euro 2024 Fixtures

The Netherlands’ group fixtures are listed below: