The Netherlands: Road to Euro 2012
Among the strongest contenders for the title along with Spain and Germany. The Netherlands proved their ability by making it to the finals of the 2010 World Cup ahead of biggies like Italy, France and England.
- NDTVSports
- Updated: May 22, 2012 06:09 PM IST
Among the strongest contenders for the title along with Spain and Germany. The Netherlands proved their ability by making it to the finals of the 2010 World Cup ahead of biggies like Italy, France and England. Expect plenty of flair and skills when the Dutch are in action and their encounter with a German side that excels in counterattacks will give us a cracker of a match. But it isn't just the Germans that Bert van Marwijk's side has to negotiate to progress further than the group stage - Portugal and Denmark stand in their way to.
Luckily for Holland they have plenty of form players in their squad. High on confidence after a successful season between the goals for Newcastle, Tim Krul will add solidity between the posts. The attack will be led by EPL's player of the season Robin Van Persie who single handedly revived Arsenal's dwindling season, Klaas-Jan Huntelaar - the top-scorer in the Euro qualifying stage with 12 goals - and Dirk Kuyt. All three Dutch forwards were among the top 10 scorers in qualifying. Add to that Arjen Robben, Rafael van der Vaart and Wesley Sneijder in the midfield and you have got a squad oozing with talent.
Netherland's path to Euro 2012 finals was without any hiccups. They won nine out of their 10 games with the only blip coming in the form of a 3-2 loss in a inconsequential game against Sweden - the teams last qualifier. Holland had defeated Sweden 4-1 in their home game earlier. The Dutch also got victories over Hungary, Finland, Moldova and San Marino, a team that was mauled 5-0 and then 11-0 in the return leg.