The Netherlands national football team is the national football team of the Netherlands and is controlled by the Royal Netherlands Football Association.
Netherlands is consistently one of Europe's strongest national teams, having won the European Championship in 1988, and having reached two consecutive World Cup finals, but losing both (1974 and 1978). At the peak of its success in the 1970s, the team was nicknamed "Clockwork Orange" for its precise passing.
The most famous Duch side belongs to the 1970s with the invention of Total Football, pioneered by Ajax Amsterdam club and lead by the creative genius of Johan Cruyff. The team has been strong since, winning Euro 88, reaching the semifinals in Euro 92, Euro 2000 and Euro 2004, and finishing fourth in the 1998 World Cup.
The Dutch will be playing in Group C, the group of "death", with France, 2006 World Cup winners Italy and Romania.