YES WE CAN : Robin van Persie and co believe its time to better their best .

BRIEFLY : The Oranje are cursed with an unwanted record . Having finished runners-up in 1974 , 1978 and 2010 , no other team has played as many finals without ever lifting the Jules Rimet Trophy .

That failure perhaps does more than anything to explain the Netherlands ' turbulent history in the World Cup . But despite possessing several wonderful teams , failures to qualify during the 1980s and disappointing campaigns afterwards mean the Dutch are not a force to be reckoned with .

The Dutch could well be dark horses of this World Cup , as they really haven ' t been hyped up as much as they had been in previous tournaments , but the oranje know , like group rivals Spain , they could be just one World Cup triumph away from being perennial underachievers to genuine favourites at the start of every tournament .

MISSION : As ever with the Dutch at a major tournament , it is difficult to predict how they will fare . The 2010 World Cup finalists have finished unbeaten this year ,

STAR MAN

SPAIN , HOLLAND, CHILE , AUSTRALIA

ROBIN VAN PERSIE : Robin Van Persie is evidently a star man with eleven goals and a fear factor few can match . He is athletic , has great technique and as captain of the Netherlands will hope to inspire his teammates to first place in the group .

Van Persie is a genuine match-winner and played a major role in Manchester United securing the Premier League crown last season .

scoring goals for fun , but that achievement is less impressive when you look at who they have faced . This is a tough group , and the Netherlands ' miserable showing in Euro 2012 lends doubt to their ability to overcome elite teams like Spain and Chile . They ' re a powerful side , with Robin van Persie and Arjen Robben who are capable of doing horrible , horrible things to opposing defences . Is a front four of Arjen Robben , Robin van Persie , Wesley Sneijder and Rafael van Der Vaart at its peak or a fading force ? They will be aiming to lift their maiden World Cup crown .

PREPARATION : The Netherlands positively cruised into the finals of Brazil 2014 , coming

KEY MAN through as Europe ' s the joint-top point scorers - alongside Germany - on 28 , with their 2-2 draw against Estonia the only minor blemish on a near-faultless campaign . At times they were absolutely purring , in no game more so than their 8- 1 defeat of Hungary , while Germany were the only side on the continent to score more goals than their 34 .

They registered comfortable wins over their three main Group D rivals - Turkey , Hungary and Romania - in their opening four games to see them shoot clear of the competition , with only a spectacular collapse looking able to deny them an automatic spot . That never came and a , somewhat nervy , 2-0 win over Andorra saw them , alongside Italy , become the first Europeans to seal their place in Brazil . It isn ' t quite uhuru yet for The Oranje , as they were convincinly beaten 2-0 by France in a recent friendly .

HIGH POINTS : Forget any goals , matches , wins or defeats , it has to be the Cruyff turn , unveiled for the first time in a 1974 match with Sweden . Pure genius by one of the game ’ s greats .

LOW POINT : He was the star of the 1974 World Cup , but Johan Cruyff refused to travel to South America for the next instalment . At the time the reasons given were political , the Dutch master disagreeing with the dictatorship in power in Argentina . Later , Cruyff would say the reasons for his international retirement were kidnap threats to his family . Either way , Holland still reached the final , but were beaten by hosts Argentina . Had Cruyff been there , they may just have clinched their first ever World Cup and ended one of

COACH

LUIS VAN GAAL : Van Gaal has won league titles with Ajax , Barcelona , Bayern Munich and AZ Alkmaar . Appointed as Netherlands boss in 2012 , he has Danny Blind and Kluivert , who won the Champions League at Ajax under him , on his coaching staff .

G . van der Wiel

A . Robben

STRONGEST LINE-UP T . Krul

B . Martins Indi

J . de Guzman

R . van der Vaart

ARJEN ROBBEN : Bayern Munich winger has won League titles in England , Spain and Germany with a Champions League and World Cup runner-up medal thrown in . Great turn of pace and accurate crossing . Playing predominantly from the right flank , Robben ' s pace and dribbling ability has seen him cause defenders Europewide problems for the best part of a decade . His approach of cutting onto his left-foot may be predictable , but it remains highly effective .

R . Vlaar

FORMATION : 4-3-3 4-4-2

D . Blind

S . de Jong W . Sneijder

R . van Persie

WORLD CUP HISTORY The Dutch suffered World Cup final heartbreak for a third time in 2010 when they lost to Spain , adding to the defeats their great teams suffered in 1974 and 1978 . Brazil will be their 10th World Cup finals .

Previous World Cup appearances ( 9 ): 1934 , 1938 , 1974 , 1978 , 1990 , 1994 , 1998 , 2006 , 2010

Best : Runners up 1974 , 1978 , 2010

ROAD TO BRAZIL 2014 They won nine of their 10 matches and scored 34 goals , with only a 2-2 draw against Estonia denying them a perfect record . That said , few countries had easier opposition - none of their opponents were ranked in Fifa ' s top 30 .

KEY

MAN DALEY BLIND : Blind has been one of Dutch champion Ajax ' s mostimproved players this season and is equally comfortable at left back or in the midfield . That versatility will likely make him an important part of the Dutch squad in Brazil , especially in the absence of Strootman .

Daley Blind ' s dad , Danny , has already been chosen to take over as Netherlands coach following the 2016 European Championship . By that time , his son is expected to be a regular in his country ' s defense or midfield .

COMPLETE FOOTBALL 17