While we were all amazed to see the Netherlands labour to a fourth-place finish in their Euro 16 qualifying group, perhaps we shouldn’t have been so surprised.
It seems the Oranje suffered from the curse of third place, and that their impressive showing at the World Cup is what led to their downfall.
All of the last nine teams to take third spot at the World Cup have been European, and incredibly seven of those nine – including the Dutch – have failed to qualify for the following European Championships.
3rd at World Cup. All failed to qualify for next Euros.
Poland 1982
France 1986
Italy 1990
Sweden 1994
Croatia 1998
Turkey 2002
Holland 2014— Dale Johnson (@DaleJohnsonESPN) October 14, 2015
The only exception to the rule is Germany, who beat Portugal and Uruguay in successive third place play-offs, but then the Germans always qualify for major tournaments.
So it’s not the fault of Guus Hiddink, Danny Blind, Robin van Persie or anyone else. The odds were stacked against them from the very start.
