Ara_sport

Netherlands (NED)

Profile

Founded	1889
Affiliated	1904
WC participations	7 (1934, 1938, 1974, 1978, 1990, 1994, 1998)
WC honours	Runners-up (1974, 1978)
Continental Titles	European champions (1988)
Facts Holland have taken part in the FIFA World Cup™ qualifiers 14 times and have won through to the finals on seven of those occasions. Their heyday was without doubt the 1970s. In 1974 and 1978 the Dutch reached the FIFA World Cup final. In the Germany 1974 final they took an early lead but eventually succumbed 2-1 to the hosts Germany. Four years later the host nation again stole glory from them. Argentina, gifted with an outstanding performance by striker Mario Kempes, won 3-1 in extra time. Since then the Dutch have waited in vain for another chance to compete in the final. Frequently among the favourites for the FIFA World Cup, Holland have repeatedly failed to live up to their promise. They came closest in 1998, but after a thrilling semi-final lost the penalty shoot-out against Brazil.

General Information

FIFA Trigramme: NED
Country: Holland
Country (official name): Koninkrijk der Nederlanden
Continent: Europe
Capital: Amsterdam
Major cities: Rotterdam, The Hague, Utrecht, Eindhoven, Groningen, Tilburg, Haarlem, Nijmegen, Apeldoorn, Enschede
Currency: Euro
Official languages: Dutch
Motto: I will maintain.

Population (in millions): 16.15
GDP per inhabitant (in US dollars): 26,900
Density (inhabitants per km2): 388.93
Average age (in years): 38.6
Life expectancy at birth (in years): 78.74

Internet code: .nl
Number of internet users: 9.73 million (2002)



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