For a footballing powerhouse such as the Netherlands, the eight years since 2014 have felt like an eternity.
When Robin van Persie, Daley Blind and Gini Wijnaldum struck to beat hosts Brazil 3-0 in the 2014 World Cup third-place play-off, you’d have got a good price on the Dutch having to wait until 2021 for their next major tournament. Failing to qualify for either Euro 2016 or Russia 2018 reflected a deep Dutch footballing malaise.
Qualification for Qatar 2022 wasn’t plain sailing, either. It began with a 4-2 defeat in Turkey in March 2021 and, after victories against minnows Latvia
