Despite a long and rich history in the competition, the Netherlands head into the summer looking for their first win in a European Championship game since 2008. Oranje, as they are fondly called, would have a point to prove as they are coming into the tournament having failed to qualify for the 2016 edition and subsequently missing out on the 2018 World Cup spot as well.
But the Dutch have been on a roll lately and qualified for the event with just 1 defeat from 8 games. They are placed in Group C along with Ukraine, Austria and North Macedonia.
Frank de Boer replaced Barcelona-bound former team-mate Ronald Koeman in September 2020 as Netherlands boss.
The Oranje have plenty of squad depth but much of the attacking burden falls on the powerful Lyon forward Memphis Depay. However, the one to watch out for would be Frenkie de Jong, who has become a regular presence on the international stage, with 25 caps to date.
Netherlands’ hopes though took a major blow after Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk ruled himself out of the competition due to an injury.
Apart from winning the competition once, the Dutch have never reached the final. They have, however, made it to the knockouts 7 times.
The Dutch would be eager to put their longest absence from major finals since the mid-1980s aside and would try and win their first Euro title since 1988.