Holland
Holland topped their qualifying group by 5 points, beating the Czech Republic both home and away, forcing them into the play-offs.
If they have a weakness it is their defence, but due to Edwin van der Sar’s excellent keeping in the qualifiers, they only conceded 3 goals.
Holland World Cup profile continues below
Holland's manager is Dutch footballing legend, Marco Van Basten. There were some doubts about his lack of experience when he took over in July 2004, but since then he has proved himself to the players and the fans.
Holland are probably the best team not to have lifted the World Cup. They have been in 2 finals and many semis and quarters.
Ruud Van Nistelrooy is Holland's only natural finisher, but the likes of Van Persie and Robben are capable of causing defences real problems.
Incredibly, Holland were not seeded for Germany 2006, despite being ranked third in the world. They won their opener against Serbia and Montenegro 1-0 and then defeated a strong Ivory Coast side 2-1 to ensure moving on to the next stage.
They held Argentina to a 0-0 draw and their second place in the group meant that Holland face Portugal in the last 16.
The Portugal match was a heated contest - both sides finished with nine men ( - a record number of red cards for a World Cup game) and the game equalled the World Cup record for bookings - 16. Holland lost 1-0 and it was Marco van Basten's first competitive defeat as Dutch coach.
Holland Squad:
Player Club Position Caps Goals
M Stekelenburg Ajax G 1 0
H Timmer AZ Alkmaar G 1 0
E Van der Sar Man Utd G 108 0
K Boulahrouz SV Hamburg D 10 0
T De Cler AZ Alkmaar D 2 0
J Heitinga Ajax D 16 1
K Jaliens AZ Alkmaar D 1 0
J Kromkamp Liverpool D 9 0
J Mathijsen AZ Alkmaar D 7 0
A Ooijer PSV Eindhoven D 18 2
G van Bronckhorst Barcelona D 56 3
P Cocu PSV Eindhoven M 96 10
D Landzaat AZ Alkmaar M 21 1
H Maduro Ajax M 9 0
W Sneijder Ajax M 21 5
R Van der Vaart SV Hamburg M 35 6
M van Bommel Barcelona M 36 7
R Babel Ajax F 5 2
D Kuijt Feyenoord F 17 4
A Robben Chelsea F 19 6
R Van Persie Arsenal F 8 1
J Vennegoor of Hesselink PSV Eindhoven F 6 0
R van Nistelrooy Man Utd F 50 26
Holland World Cup profile by Ben Rosenbaum
