Netherlands: Five players to watch

How have the Netherlands never won the FIFA World Cup? ‘Total Football’, with Rinus Michels as its conductor and Johan Cruyff playing concertmaster, had their name all but etched on the trophy in 1974, only to return home as runners-up. Invariably the same side, albeit minus Cruyff, seized the same prize four years later. Ronald Koeman, Frank Rijkaard, Ruud Gullit, Marco van Basten and the continental conquerors of ’88 fell to fierce rivals West Germany in an epic Round-of-16 clash at Italia ’90. Dennis Bergkamp and Co produced magic aplenty before losing to Brazil on penalties in the France ’98 semi-finals. Then came the era of Wesley Sneijder, Arjen Robben and Robin van Persie, who pocketed silver in South Africa and bronze in Brazil. The aforementioned question is one that perplexes Louis van Gaal. It’s one he and his band of soldiers are determined to make extinct. FIFA+ spotlights five of the men who could help the Netherlands do so in Qatar.

Virgil van Dijk

Position: Centre-back Age: 31

“Virgil van Dijk is the best centre-back on the planet right now – easy,” stated Rio Ferdinand earlier this year. “I’d go further,” interrupted Michael Owen. “I think he’s the best centre-half of all time.” Positional GOAT contenders such as Bobby Moore, Franz Beckenbauer, Daniel Passarella, Franco Baresi, Marcel Desailly and Fabio Cannavaro all thrived in the World Cup. At the relatively old age of 31, Van Dijk, who has never even played in a UEFA EURO, will finally get his chance. The Breda boulder has been central to the re-emergence the Netherlands with his impregnability, leadership and threat from set-pieces. Having won everything there is to win at club level with Liverpool, he now desperate to guide his country to the trophy that has somehow eluded some exceptional generations. Van Dijk finished runner-up for The Best FIFA Men’s Player for 2019, but returned home with the plaudits of victor Lionel Messi, who labelled him “complete and magnificent”. Erling Haaland recently identified VVD as the toughest opponent he has ever competed against, saying: “He’s fast, strong and f*cking smart.”

Denzel Dumfries

Position: Right-wingback Age: 26

A Dutch kid playing international football before he was on the books of a pro football club sounds like something from a Hollywood script, right? A kid named after actor Denzel Washington made it reality. Dumfries made two appearances for Aruba as a 17-year-old in 2014, scoring a spectacular long-ranger against Guam. The uber-confident player swiftly informed the ABC Island nation he would not represent them in a competitive fixture, however, as he was certain he would one day wear orange in a World Cup. Months later he was watching a giant screen in an Amsterdam square as Arjen Robben and Robin van Persie – along with current internationals Daley Blind and Giorginio Wijnaldum – helped write Netherlands’ earth-shaking 5-1 victory over Spain at Brazil 2014. Now Dumfries is set to realise his own wild dream. The Rotterdammer’s maiden international expedition piqued the attention of Sparta Rotterdam, who whisked him from non-league Barendrecht. Eight years on and Dumfires can lay claim to having been one of the stars of UEFA EURO 2022, excelling for PSV and current club Inter Milan, interesting Bayern Munich, Manchester United and Real Madrid, and owning 35 Netherlands caps. “I’ve never seen a player with such high energy,” said former Oranje right-back Mario Melchiot. “He has a real spring on him, a winning mentality, he’s physical, and he’s great going forward.”

Frenkie de Jong

Position: Midfielder Age: 25

“I just love playing football, feeling the ball at my feet,” said De Jong. “All my life it’s all I’ve ever wanted to do.” So much so that on his last appearance for Ajax, with his side 4-1 up, he begged the referee to “please add extra time - I want to play as long as possible.” De Jong is now set to perform on the biggest stage of all. A ball-retention and pass god, the Gorinchem native would be a perfect fit for the Dutch ‘Total Football’ of the 1970s or the Spanish tika-taka of in and around South Africa 2010, while he’s been likened to Franz Beckenbauer and his now-coach at Barcelona. “With his skill, vision and passing he could be a new Xavi,” said Marc Overmars. Xavi himself recently showered his No21 in praise: “He’s spectacular with the ball at his feet. He’s strong, keeps possession, has incredible vision and can play the killer pass and split defences.” The Willem II academy graduate has won 44 Netherlands caps, though he hasn’t scored in his last 34 internationals. Whether he can ripple Qatari nets is in question, but he seems destined to rewrite some World Cup passing statistics.

Cody Gakpo

Position: Forward Age: 23

You'd be stretched to find a player with more transfer rumours swirling around their name than Cody Gakpo at the moment, and with good reason.

The attacker - comfortable through the centre or on the wing - has steadily built his reputation at PSV Eindhoven to the point where he could be cherry picking his next club at will, with clubs such as Manchester United reportedly queuing up for his signature.

Nine goals and 12 assists in 14 Eredivisie appearances this season is not easily overlooked, compounding an influential past few years in which he has won the Dutch Cup and the Dutch Footballer of the Year award.

His next challenge is to carry that influence into Qatar 2022, but he is aware that the experience will be a learning curve: "I know it [the World Cup] is something special. It's the highest stage you can play on and I'm really curious about how it will make me feel. I want to be even more consistent and score even more. I think I can also learn a lot in terms of my head power, my left leg and choosing my position," he told journalists.

Netherlands coach Louis van Gaal is an outspoken fan of Gakpo: “I think Gakpo is a great talent. He scores easily. He has now also shown that in the Dutch national team. He is also a young player, so he still has a lot of experience to gain.”

With just nine senior international appearances to his name, however, he is what you could call inexperienced on the world stage. This could mean he is not a guaranteed starter when Netherlands begin their World Cup quest against Senegal on 21 November but, however Gakpo does get his chance, his explosive performance is sure to be hard to miss.

Memphis Depay

Position: Forward Age: 28

In their last 20 internationals Mo Salah has scored six goals, Karim Benzema and Kylian Mbappe 12 each, Robert Lewandowski and Lionel Messi 15 apiece, Harry Kane 16 and Erling Haaland 20. Depay has netted 21. He is, to the Oranje, as fundamental as oranges are to the Oranjebitter. Depay’s cocktail of unpredictable skills, defence-fracturing through-balls and lethal finishes prompted current Netherlands coach Louis van Gaal to label him “one of the most difficult players to stop in the world”, Bastian Schweinsteiger to laud him as an ”unbelievable talent” and Georginio Wijnaldum to tell FIFA that “the team is doing so well because of Memphis. He’s a striker now but he does much more than score goals – he makes things happen, he gets assists.” Depay went to Brazil 2014 as a 20-year-old, setting up Robin van Persie’s equaliser and scoring the winner in a 3-2 win over Australia on his competition debut, consequently becoming the youngest Dutchman to net a World Cup goal. He also rose from the bench to seal a 2-0 victory over Chile en route to going home with a bronze medal. The Netherlands’ chances of a first gold in Qatar will be indebted to a Barcelona player who is closing in on Van Persie’s national goal record of 50.