History of the Netherlands national football team World Cup final tournament in 1934. After a second appearance in 1938 they did not appear in another World Cup until 1974. The 1970s saw the invention of Total Football (), pioneered by Feyenoord and Ajax and led by playmaker Johan Cruyff and national team coach Rinus Michels. The Dutch made huge strides, qualifying for two World Cup finals in the decade. The captain of the Brazilian team that won the 1970 FIFA World Cup, Carlos Alberto, went on to say ""The only team I’ve seen that did things differently was Holland at the 1974 World Cup in Germany. Since
History of the FIFA World Cup criteria for advancement to knockout phase is as follows: As of the 2014 World Cup, lots have only been drawn once in tournament history. However, they were used to separate second and third place in a group (Republic of Ireland and the Netherlands in 1990) where both were already assured of qualification. Thus, a team has never been eliminated based upon drawn lots. History of the FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup was first held in 1930, when FIFA, the world's football governing body, decided to stage an international men’s football tournament under the era of FIFA president Jules