With the World Cup just a matter of weeks away, Louis van Gaal and the Netherlands are in a fantastic position to take Qatar by storm this winter.
The Oranje are undefeated since reappointing the 71-year-old in place of Frank de Boer, winning 11 and drawing four of their 15 matches under the Dutchman.
It represents a major turnaround from the Netherlands after a turbulent spell before Van Gaal returned, as the Dutch didn’t even qualify for the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
Where were the Netherlands at the 2018 World Cup?
With Dick Advocaat in charge, the Netherlands disastrously failed to qualify for the last World Cup.
Up against France, Sweden, Bulgaria, Luxembourg and Belarus, the Oranje could only finish third in Group A on goal difference, as they were made to pay for a costly 2-0 defeat to Belarus.
Sweden scoring a 94th minute winner in a 2-1 win over Spain also didn’t help the Netherlands out.
Despite recording a 2-0 win over Sweden in the final qualifying game, the Dutch could not make up a seven-goal margin needed to leapfrog into second place on goal difference.
It was a major disappointment for the nation after doing so well at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, where Van Gaal impressively guided his country to a third place finish.
Louis van Gaal has a big impact on the Netherlands once again
As aforesaid, Van Gaal thrived at the 2014 World Cup.
However, Advocaat and De Boer failed to get a tune out of the Netherlands squad, before the experienced Van Gaal walked back into his role and immediately turned things around.
Clearly, the old Manchester United boss has a big impact when entrusted to oversee the Dutch national side, and he quite evidently has the respect of the players, which cannot be understated.
With a focused group, one full of talented players such as Memphis Depay and Frenkie de Jong, we see no reason why the Netherlands can’t go on to win their first ever World Cup this winter.
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