Netherlands — A World Cup Phenomenon. 16 Years Undefeated — and Not a Single Final
The Netherlands national team was eliminated from the 2026 World Cup as early as the Round of 16. The team lost to Morocco in a penalty shootout.
Cody Gakpo opened the scoring against Morocco, but the team couldn't win, photo fifa.com
Such a result is hard to call a sensation: Moroccans rank higher in the FIFA rankings and were hardly inferior to the Dutch either in Opta ratings or bookmakers' odds. But it still seems unfair to Ronald Koeman's team, as they once again left the World Cup without losing a single match in regular time, writes sports.ru.
Starting from the 2010 World Cup final, the Netherlands has never lost in either regular or extra time. This streak now stands at 16 matches — an absolute tournament record.
The previous achievement belonged to Pelé's Brazil — 13 matches undefeated between 1958 and 1966. The paradox is that during this period, Brazilians became world champions twice, while the Netherlands hasn't even reached a final since 2010.
Their best result was bronze medals in 2014. They missed the 2018 World Cup entirely.
If we only consider regular time, the streak is even longer. The last time the Netherlands lost at a World Cup was 20 years ago — 0:1 to Portugal in a legendary match that went down in history due to 16 yellow and four red cards.
This leads to another discouraging record. The Netherlands is the first national team in history to be eliminated from the World Cup four times in a row without losing a single match.
In addition, they are the only team with a 23-match unbeaten streak at World Cups that has not won a single title.
Penalty shootouts are a separate story. Out of five shootouts in the tournament, the Dutch lost four. Their only victory was in the 2014 World Cup quarter-finals against Costa Rica. Everything else was disappointment:
- 1998 — defeat to Brazil in the semi-finals (1:1, 2:4 on penalties);
- 2014 — defeat to Argentina in the semi-finals (0:0, 2:4 on penalties);
- 2022 — defeat to Argentina in the quarter-finals (2:2, 3:4 on penalties);
- 2026 — defeat to Morocco in the Round of 16 (1:1, 2:3 on penalties).
In terms of penalty shootout losses, the Netherlands has caught up with Spain — both teams now have four such failures. France, Italy, and England each have three.
The Netherlands went to the World Cup in North America as the eighth favorite for gold and second among teams that had never won the World Cup. Only Portugal's chances were rated higher.
Result:
- — First place in the group — 53%
- — Reaching the playoffs — 88%
- — Reaching the Round of 16 — 55%
- — Reaching the quarter-finals — 35%
- — Championship title — 5%
The predictions came true right up until the most important part began. Perhaps at the next World Cup, the Netherlands will finally lose a match — and become champions?