The Uncrowned Champion: Netherlands in The World Cup Part 2
Read More: The Uncrowned Champion: Netherlands in The World Cup Part 1
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We continue our story about the Netherlands national team in the World Cup.
After losing the final match in the 1974 World Cup, the Dutch national team traveled to South America, specifically to Argentina, to participate in the 1978 World Cup in the hope of achieving the title.
World Cup 1978
The draw placed the Netherlands in Group D along with Peru, Scotland, and Iran.
The Dutch team qualified for the second round as second in the group behind Peru, after collecting 5 points, with a goal difference from Scotland, which finished third.
In the second round, the Netherlands was in Group A along with Italy, West Germany, and Austria, and the Netherlands managed to top the group to qualify for the final (as the tournament system at the time was that the top two groups in the second round qualified for the final).
In the final match hosted by the Monumental Stadium in Buenos Aires, the Dutch team lost to the host Argentina, 3-1.
Thus, the Dutch national team failed to achieve the World Cup title, despite qualifying for the final for the second time in a row.
In a tournament that the Dutch national team star Johan Cruyff missed for political reasons related to the military coup that took place in Argentina at the time and the practices of the Argentinian military government at that time.
After that, the Dutch national team waited twenty years until it was able to reach the semi-finals again when it lost to Brazil on penalties 4-2 after the match ended in a 1-1 draw.
Thus, the Dutch national team ranked fourth in the tournament, after losing to Croatia 3-1 in the ranking match.
World Cup 2010
In the 2010 World Cup hosted by South Africa, with a very distinguished generation at the time that included players such as Arjen Robben, Robin van Persie, and Wesley Sneijder, the Netherlands tried again to achieve the World Cup title.
The Dutch national team was placed in Group E along with Japan, Denmark, and Cameroon, the Dutch team was able to qualify for the second round as the group leader, with three victories.
The Netherlands beat Denmark 2-0, before beating Japan 1-0, and the Netherlands concluded their group matches by beating Cameroon 2-1.
In the second round, the Netherlands defeated Slovakia and managed to win 2-1 with goals from Arjen Robben and Wesley Schneider.
In the quarterfinals, the Netherlands managed to eliminate Brazil, despite being behind with the result, with Robinho's goal in the 10th minute, but Wesley Sneijder scored two goals in the 53,58 minutes.
Thus, the Netherlands qualified for the semi-finals for the first time since 1998.
In the semi-finals, the Netherlands faced Uruguay and managed to win 3-2, with goals from Giovanni van Bronckhorst, Wesley Sneijder, and Arjen Robben.
Thus, the Netherlands qualified for the final for the first time in 32 years.
In the final match, the Dutch team faced Spain, and lost the final match again after losing the final match in the 1974 and 1978 World Cups, in what looked like a curse, the Netherlands failed to win the World Cup despite reaching the final three times, to be the uncrowned champion.