Belgium–Netherlands 2018 FIFA World Cup bid Belgium–Netherlands 2018 FIFA World Cup bid Alain Courtois, a Belgian Member of Parliament, announced in October 2006 that a formal bid would be made on behalf of the three Benelux countries: Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg to host either the 2018 FIFA World Cup or 2022 version, but has since decided to concentrate solely on the 2018 version (see 2018 European World Cup bids). In June 2007 the three countries launched their campaign not as a joint bid in the manner of the Korea-Japan World Cup in 2002, but emphasizing it as a common political organization. Luxembourg would not host
Netherlands at the 1920 Summer Olympics straight bronze medal. The team had a fairly easy win over Luxembourg in the first round before requiring extra time to defeat Sweden in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals, the Netherlands lost to eventual gold-medalist Belgium. This relegated the Dutch team to the consolation tournament for silver; they received a bye into the consolation final when France turned out to have left the Olympics. In the match for silver and bronze, the Netherlands were defeated by Spain to finish in third place. Twelve rowers represented the Netherlands in 1920. It was the nation's third appearance in the sport. None of