One of my good friends is Dutch, so I’m biased in some ways here — but consider this to begin:
The Netherlands have appeared in 10 World Cups so far, holding the record of losing the most finals without managing a single triumph after finishing as runners-up in 1974, 1978, and 2010, losing to West Germany, Argentina and Spain respectively.
Evidence? Surely.
The Dutch are largely responsible for a model of soccer development that others also imitate / copy / learn from / claim as their own, so I’d say it’s time for them to get their own world championship. Interestingly, they might need to beat Argentina (semis) and Germany (finals) to do it. It wouldn’t be the first pre-World Cup demon they’ve conquered, though. They slaughtered Spain in the opener after losing the final to them in 2010.
In fairness, when they lost the ’10 World Cup, it was still a bit of a party in Amsterdam:
I love the Messi-and-his-legacy angle like the next guy, but I’m going ahead and rooting for The Netherlands the rest of the way.
