The Netherlands entered qualification for 19 of the 22 FIFA World Cup tournaments to date, qualifying 11 times.
In 1990, two years after the European Championship at the UEFA Euro 1988, the Dutch went out in the Round of 16, defeated by West Germany.
The Dutch avenged this loss during the first match of the following 2014 World Cup, routing the Spanish 5–1, and eventually going on to their first third-place finish.
Man of the Match: Andrés Iniesta (Spain) Assistant referees: Darren Cann (England) Michael Mullarkey (England) Fourth official: Yuichi Nishimura (Japan) Fifth official: Toru Sagara (Japan) Netherlands used all 23 players during the 2014 World Cup, making it the first team in World Cup history to ever use all of its squad players.
[7] The team avenged their 2010 loss to Spain by defeating the defending champions with a stunning 5–1 victory in their opening game.