World Cup Betting Team Handicaps: Netherlands

With the World Cup right around the corner, we’ll be handicapping the field and assessing their chances of winning the tournament. Most importantly, we’ll look at the World Cup betting odds to determine whether each team is a good value. We’ll be starting with the favored teams and working our way down the list over the next couple of weeks. After that we’ll recommend specific betting positions on futures and prop bets, and once the tournament starts we’ll have World Cup betting free picks every day. Make Oddsbay your home for the best soccer betting free picks and handicapping information anywhere!
The Netherlands national soccer team—which is referred to colloquially as Holland and referenced this way at many sportsbooks—is the 5th favorite in World Cup betting odds. Once you get past the top four teams, however, the entire field is priced at double digits or higher underscoring the wide open nature of the 2010 World Cup. Holland is around +1000 at most books which represents quite a difference between 4th favorite Argentina (+650) and the #6 favorite Germany (+1450).
Holland’s football team is informally called the Oranje (‘orange’) and not surprisingly this motif makes its way into the team colors, jerseys, etc. The nickname is a reference to William of Orange, who became the first king of the re-unified Netherlands in 1813. The ‘orange’ conceit also lends itself to some clever nicknames, including ‘The Clockwork Orange’—a homage to the classic Stanley Kubrick film as well as the team’s famously precise and potent offense. There’s plenty of frontline talent, with Inter Milan midfielder Wesley Sneijder orchestrating and a deep and versatile group of scorers led by Bayern Munich’s Arjen Robben, Liverpool’s Dirk Kuyt and Arsenal’s Robin van Persie among others.
There’s no question that Holland’s offense is one of the best in the World Cup field, but there’s plenty of concern about the defense. The backline field defenders are decent and are comprised primarily of Dutch Eredivisie standouts including Ajax right back Gregory van der Wiel and Feyenoord’s Giovanni van Bronckhorst. Collectively, Holland relies on speed and finesse in the backline as opposed to size and strength. A bigger issue is the goalkeeping following the retirement of Edwin van der Sar. Maarten Stekelenburg inherited the starting job, but has been inconsistent to the point that Dutch fans have been vocal in their desire to see van der Sar return.
An even greater problem could be the internal chemistry of the team. The team’s playmaking midfielder Wesley Sneijder is reportedly aloof and difficult to deal with. There have also been questions about his focus and commitment to the national team. Were that not enough, he’s got an ongoing feud with striker Robin van Persie—amazingly, a grudge over free kick assignments during the 2008 Euro competition. There have also been rumors of other internal dissention, though head coach Bert van Marwijk has repeatedly dismissed suggestions that any are significant enough to undermine team chemistry. To some extent, this sort of infighting is ‘business as usual’ for Holland’s team and nothing that will adversely impact their play.
Holland shouldn’t have much trouble advancing from Group E, and are simply more talented than solid if unspectacular Denmark and overmatched Japan. Cameroon—featuring Inter Milan’s Samuel Eto’o—could give Holland problems due to their notoriously physical play. It’ll be a good indication of how well the offense will fare down the road against the more physical teams they might face in the knockout stage. For Holland to advance winning the group is crucial—the Group E winner will play the Group F #2, likely Paraguay or Slovakia. The Group E runner up will face the winner of Group F, almost certain to be defensive powerhouse Italy.
From a betting standpoint, it’s hard to have much interest in Holland at the price. Their offense is as good as any in the field, but their defensive and goaltending liabilities could be a serious issue. More problematic could be their internal dissent, and their perceived difficulties with physical teams could also be an issue. To back a team that needs to have everything go just right to advance deep in the field you’d like to be getting a better price. With several solid teams at higher prices including Germany, France and Italy we’ll recommend a pass on Holland.