The Netherlands were drawn into a difficult World Cup group on Friday and the initial reaction has been far from positive from the Dutch.
While other coaches approached the group with cautious optimism, Netherland manager Louis Van Gaal was negative about the situation for his nation.
"You can't really do anything about it, but it's fair to say that it's not a good draw for us," he said, according to FIFA.com. "We will play Spain, the reigning world champions; Australia, who we have never beaten; and Chile."
His first game of the tournament will be against Spain, the team that defeated the Dutch in the 2010 World Cup finals. Regarding the prospects of beating Spain, Van Gaal pointed toward the FIFA rankings to sum up his seeming lack of confidence.
"Holland are ninth in the FIFA Ranking and Spain are first, so who do you think are favourites? Of course, it'll be a replay of the 2010 Final."
He also noted that Chile will present a huge obstacle for his nation.
"Chile will be difficult, they've got players like Alexis Sanchez, Arturo Vidal... they're a very tough team to beat. I saw them play against Colombia when they went 3-0 up and they showed that they are a good team," said Van Gaal.
Van Gaal also looked ahead to the round of 16 as if he thought his team would only have a chance at finishing second.
"If we qualify we could end up meeting Brazil, the tournament favourites, [in the Round of 16] which makes the task even more difficult," he noted. "So, it's not the best of draws from a Dutch perspective: I would have preferred Group H. We do not have a lot of time to prepare either after arriving in Brazil, so it's also a bad draw in that respect."
The Dutch are seen as a favorite in this tournament especially with the likes of Robin Van Persie and Arjen Robben leading the offense. The team's defense is relatively young and inexperienced and could pose some issues for the team in the group stage against such dynamic offenses as Spain and Chile.
- Contribute to this Story:
- Send us a tip
- Send us a photo or video
- Suggest a correction
