Netherlands

Oranje is synonymous with 'Total Football,' the revolutionary philosophy that reshaped how the sport is played and coached worldwide. Despite producing some of the most gifted teams and players in football history — Cruyff, van Basten, Bergkamp — the Dutch have built a reputation as the game's great nearly-men on the world stage. The bright orange kit remains one of the most recognizable in the sport.

The KNVB, founded in 1889, is one of continental Europe's oldest federations. The Netherlands has reached three World Cup finals — 1974, 1978, and 2010 — without winning any of them, an unmatched run of heartbreak at the sport's biggest stage. The program's signature triumph instead came at Euro 1988, when a Marco van Basten volley sealed victory over the Soviet Union.