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Breaking Down Netherlands’ World Cup 2014 Group Stage Opponents
Published: December 6, 2013
Having been placed in Group B with reigning world champions Spain—perhaps the best team in pot B—along with Chile and Australia, the Oranje face a real test to merely reach the knockout stages.
Runners-up at the 2010 tournament under Bert van Marwijk, having failed so miserably at the European Championships in 2012 with many of the same players, van Gaal has ripped up the Dutch squad and given youth its head.
According to the coach himself, only Robin van Persie, Arjen Robben and Kevin Strootman—fitness permitted—are guarantees for his final 23, meaning that he'll be looking at those who have been in and around the squad these last 18 months to really stake their claim in the next six months.
Having won nine of 10 qualifiers, the young Dutch are full of confidence and they look to stamp their authority on each match. Since van Gaal's return to the top job, he's ditched van Marwijk's 4-2-3-1 formation featuring two midfield destroyers and has returned to an adherence to possession and technical dominance.
That is something they'll expect to do against the Socceroos, but whether they'll be allowed in the other two matches is very much open to debate.
Which leads to the question: In the face of such talented opponents, just how pragmatic will van Gaal be?
Spain
La Roja may have peaked, but they are the greatest international side ever, having won back-to-back European Championships and the 2010 World Cup, when they beat the Dutch in a bad-tempered final.
Having harnessed the Barcelona and Real Madrid factions into one tiki-taka love-in, coach Vicente Del Bosque has built a magnificent side. Quite simply, when a ...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - International Football
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