Holland

30 June :: Portugal - Holland 2-1
Portugal sent the host nation into raptures by beating Holland to reach the final of Euro 2004. Cristiano Ronaldo escaped slack Dutch marking to head Portugal into a first-half lead. Luis Figo, who played a tremendous match, hit the post before Nuno Maniche doubled Portugal's lead in the second half with a stunning strike. In the 63 minute, an own goal from Jorge Andrade handed the disappointing Dutch a lifeline but Portugal held out to reach their first final of a major championship. It was a nail-biting wait, but when the referee blew for full-time, the Portuguese were in a final at last - and the celebrations could begin.

26 June :: Holland - Sweden 0-0 (5-4)
Holland moved into the semi-finals of Euro 2004 after claiming their first ever penalty shoot-out victory in a major tournament after a 0-0 draw with Sweden in Faro-Loulé.Both Holland and Sweden played offensive football except that the Swedes constructed their attacks with speed while the Dutch concentrated on buildup.The game was fairly even and apart from a number of narrow misses neither side deserved to win after the first 90 minutes.By the end of the match and during overtime, Sweden looked tired but barely held off the final 0-0.In the penalty shootout, Ibrahimovic and Mellberg missed for Sweden while only Cocu was inaccurate for the Dutch.

23 June :: Netherlands - Latvia 3-0
The Netherlands claimed their place in the quarterfinals, as a comfortable win against Latvia was combined with a German defeat by the Czech Republic. It was the first time these two countries had met and the Netherlands went on the offensive straight from the kick-off.In the 26 minute Vitalis Astafjevs was adjudged to have tripped Edgar Davids in the box. Van Nistelrooij stepped up and coolly slotted the ball low into the corner of the net. With news filtering from the stands that the Czech Republic had equalized against Germany, the Dutch players gained even more zip and doubled their lead. A free-kick from Seedorf wide on the left was met by Cocu at the back-post and his downward header was nodded over the line by Van Nistelrooij, who joined Wayne Rooney as joint top scorer in the finals so far. The icing on the cake came with Makaay's goal six minutes from time after a superb jinking run by Robben.

19 June :: Czech Rep - Holland 3-2
Czech Republic vs Holland was an enthralling encounter where all-out attacking instincts gushed through both sides. There were moments when Holland had three men back with seven options ahead of them eager to spring out the traps and race at Peter Cech's goal.The Dutch were dominant, and relaxed, they even looked content with the world. A second goal was in the air and Ruud van Nistelrooy went looking for it with a melodramatic lurch to the ground in search of a penalty.It was an astounding 3-2 comeback by the Czech Republic, and with it group leadership was confirmed and deserved.

15 June :: Germany - Holland 1-1
The two favorites of Group D settled for a point in their head-to-head clash.Frings opened the score in the 30th minute from a wicked free kick.Germany could not preserve their lead and in the 81st minute an equalizer came from Ruud van Nistelrooij.Regardless of the goal, Kahn displayed his dominance throughout the whole match by denying a number of threats including a very dangerous attempt by Overmars.

Overview
Holland failed to deliver four years ago, when the Euro was held in their own backyard.The Dutch squad features an array of versatile and talented footballers.It all comes down to Dick Advocaat as he tries to intelligently orchestrate these players.

Netherlands Squad - Final Selection

	Player	Club	Born	Position
1.	Edwin van der Sar	Fulham FC	-	GK
2.	Michael Reiziger	FC Barcelona	-	DF
3.	Jaap Stam	AC Milan	-	DF
4.	Wilfred Bouma	PSV Eindhoven	-	DF
5.	Giovanni van Bronckhorst	FC Barcelona (loan from Arsenal FC)	-	DF
6.	Phillip Cocu	FC Barcelona	-	MF
7.	Andy van der Meyde	FC Internazionale	-	AT
8.	Edgar Davids	FC Barcelona (loan from Juventus FC)	-	MF
9.	Patrick Kluivert	FC Barcelona	-	AT
10.	Ruud van Nistelrooij	Manchester United FC	-	AT
11.	Rafael van der Vaart	AFC Ajax	-	MF
12.	Roy Makaay	FC Bayern München	-	AT
13.	Sander Westerveld	Real Sociedad de Fútbol	-	GK
14.	Wesley Sneijder	AFC Ajax	-	MF
15.	Frank de Boer	Rangers FC	-	DF
16.	Marc Overmars	FC Barcelona	-	AT
17.	Pierre van Hooijdonk	Fenerbahçe SK	-	AT
18.	Johnny Heitinga	AFC Ajax	-	DF
19.	Arjen Robben	PSV Eindhoven	-	AT
20.	Clarence Seedorf	AC Milan	-	MF
21.	Mark van Bommel	PSV Eindhoven	-	MF
22.	Boudewijn Zenden	Middlesbrough FC	-	MF
23.	Ronald Waterreus	PSV Eindhoven	-	GK
Coach: Dick Advocaat

Netherlands Fixtures
All kick-offs are in local Portuguese time (GMT 0)

Tuesday, 15th June 17.00
Netherlands vs Germany (Group D)
at Porto

Saturday, 19th June 19.45
Netherlands vs Czech Republic (Group D)
at Aveiro

Wednesday, 23th June 19.45
Netherlands vs Latvia (Group D)
at Braga