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.

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