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On November 20th, the 22nd FIFA World Cup begins. The sporting event, which will take place just before Christmas, will attract fans and supporters of various national teams from around the world. The most visited football portal in the country, "Eurofootball.com," will provide reviews of the World Cup national teams, aiming to get to know each participating team better. Let's start with one of the favorites of the tournament - the Netherlands team. The European representatives in Group A will face Senegal, Ecuador, and the tournament hosts Qatar. The Achievements of the National Team: in recent years, the Dutch national team has experienced a difficult period, failing to qualify for two tournaments (the 2016 European Championship and the 2018 World Cup). The "OnsOranje" broke the championship drought in 2020 when they participated in the European Football Championship. The tournament was not successful for the team. In the round of 16, the Netherlands lost 0-2 to the Czech Republic. An interesting fact about this team is that the Netherlands has reached the World Cup final more times than any other team but has never won it. In 1974, they lost in the final to West Germany, in 1978 they were defeated by Argentina, and in 2010 after extra time, they had to acknowledge Spain's superiority. In 2014, the Netherlands managed to win the third place in the World Cup, by defeating the tournament host Brazil 3-0 in the small final. One of the team's major achievements is winning the UEFA European Championship trophy in 1988. In the final, the Netherlands beat the Soviet Union team 2-0. Looking back at the beginning of the 20th century, the "Oranje" also won three bronze medals in the Olympic Games (1908, 1912, 1920). The Leaders of the National Team: in this tournament, the backbone of the Dutch national team will be the central defenders. The captain of the team, Virgil Van Dijk, and the newcomer from Munich "Bayern," Matthijs de Ligt. The team composition will not change significantly from the 2020 European Championship. In the midfield, Frankie de Jong will continue to play, and we will also see the newcomer from "Bayern," Ryan Gravenberch. The attacking leader will continue to be Memphis Depay, who plays for "Barcelona." Alongside him will be Dortmund's player, Donyell Malen, and Steven Bergwijn, who plays for "Ajax." The Team's Coach: since 2021, Louis van Gaal has returned as the head coach of the Dutch national football team. The 71-year-old strategist stands at the helm of the Netherlands team for the third time. The first time was in 2000-2001, and the second time was in 2012-2014. Van Gaal's biggest achievement in the team's coaching history was the third place at the 2014 World Cup. In this tournament, the coach stood out with a memorable moment when in the quarterfinals against Costa Rica, he replaced the main goalkeeper Jasper Cillessen with Tim Krul in the penalty shootout. Krul saved two penalties, leading the Netherlands team to the World Cup semifinals. After the championship, Van Gaal took over as the coach of "Manchester United." However, this period was not successful for the coach, and after two years, the club parted ways with Van Gaal in 2016. Since then, Van Gaal did not coach any teams until he returned to coach the national team in 2021.
