Country: Netherlands
Nickname: Clockwork Orange
Elite Players: Arjen Robben, Robin Van Persie, Wesley Sneijder
Key Players: Rafael Van Der Vaart, Mark Van Bommel, Giovanni Van Bronckhorst, Eljero Elia, Dirk Kuyt
Rankings: 4 (FIFA), 5 (SPI)
History: Finals (1974, 1978) Semifinals (1998)
Odds to Win: 12-1

“Fortune favors the audacious.” – Desiderius Erasmus

The Dutch represent everything awesome about soccer. The Clockwork Orange were the flowers of a youth revolution in Holland during the late 60s and early 70s. Led by the iconic Johan Cruyff, the Dutch looked like the rockstars of the era and entertained like them playing the free-flowing “Total Football” Rinus Michels developed at Ajax. The Dutch club won three consecutive European Cups from 1971 to 1973. The national team reached the World Cup Final in 1974 and 1978.

Dutch soccer is beautiful and fun. The fans are delightful and nutty. They have given the game some of its most gifted players of the past forty years: Cryuff, Rep, Gullit, Van Basten, Bergkamp and Seedorf. Their style became the progenitor for “the beautiful game” that has become synonymous with Barcelona.  The Netherlands is the most talented country that has never won a World Cup. This group will be looking to change that.

Form: The Dutch obliterated UEFA Group Nine, winning all eight matches and outscoring opponents 17-2. Hard to fault, unless you’re a sadist. They have respectable friendly results against top competition: 2-2 draw with England and 0-0 with Italy. They have been solid but complacent against second-tier World Cup opposition: 3-0 over Japan, 0-0 with Paraguay and 2-1 over the United States.

Tactics: Coach Bert van Marwijk will play a 4-2-3-1 formation, so 4-3-3 when they have the ball morphing to 4-5-1 when they lose possession. True to their ethos, the Dutch will attack in fluid fashion, taking advantage of their creativity and tremendously talented midfielders and forwards.  Van Marwijk’s greater task will be managing the prodigious egos in the team.

Controversy: The Dutch left 33-year-old Ruud van Nistelrooy out of the provisional squad, effectively ending his international career. The Man U legend missed most of the last two seasons with leg injuries, but had returned for the second half of the Bundesliga season with Hamburg, scoring seven goals in 18 appearances. He would not have started, but could have been insurance in case of an injury to Robin Van Persie.

Squad: The Dutch are a tad inexperienced at goalkeeper, relying for years on Man United keeper Edwin Van der Saar, who retired from international play during the 2010 qualifying after 130 caps. Ajax keeper Maarten Stekelenburg will be his replacement. He’s experienced though can be a bit shaky.

The Dutch back four is their weakness. Johnny Heitinga and Joris Mathijsen are a solid defensive pair in the middle, though there is not much depth behind them. Gregory van der Wiel gives them a potent attacking right back. Former Arsenal and Barcelona fixture Giovanni van Bronckhorst will start at left-back. He’s a seasoned head, but, 35 and retiring after the tournament, he could be too slow to track friskier forwards and wingers.

In midfield, Manchester City’s Nigel De Jong will be the Dutch stopper, joined by Mark Van Bommel, who has had an excellent season at Bayern, in a more creative role. The three in front of them will be Wesley Sneijder in the middle with Arjen Robben and Eljero Elia (last season torturing poor Jonathan Bornstein) occupying the wings.   Neither Elia nor Robben track back well which could expose their back line against strong opposition. You might see the Dutch opt for Dirk Kuyt over Elia to give them more solidity and coverage against teams such as Brazil.

Arsenal’s Robin Van Persie, who made his professional debut under Bert van Marwijk at Feyenoord, will lead the line. He just started to recover his fitness at the end of the season. Barring accidents, he should be ready.

Redemption: Wesley Sneijder and Arjen Robben were casualties of Real Madrid’s spending binge last summer, shuffled out the back door as sexier replacements Kaka and Cristiano Ronaldo arrived. The two responded with the best seasons of their respective careers. With the irony not lost on their former club, they will reunite at the Bernabeu with their new clubs for Saturday’s Champions League Final. Both could take over the World Cup, if they continue their torrid form.

Prediction: The Dutch should be ruthless against inferior opposition. They are heavy favorites in Group E. They should receive a winnable matchup against Paraguay/Slovakia in the first knockout round. Their first true test will be in the quarterfinals against Brazil, where this team will prove their worth.

Interesting Fact: Amsterdam alone has 1,281 bridges.

Group A: South Africa, Mexico, Uruguay, France
Group B: Argentina, Nigeria, South Korea, Greece
Group C: England, United States, Slovenia, Algeria
Group D: Germany, Australia, Serbia, Ghana
Group E: Netherlands, Denmark, Japan, Cameroon
Group F: Italy, Paraguay, New Zealand, Slovakia
Group G: Brazil, North Korea, Ivory Coast, Portugal
Group H: Spain, Switzerland, Honduras, Chile