Oranje! Tomas Mowlam checks out the chances of the Flying Dutchmen in their World Cup 2010 campaign in South Africa, the best place to watch the games in Amsterdam and the Netherlands’ key players.

The Dutch are in Group E, drawn against Denmark, Japan and Cameroon. The first game is against the Danes on 14 June at the Johannesburg Soccer City stadium. Then they face Japan in the Loftus Versfeld Stadium in Pretoria, on 19 June. The final match of the group stages is on 24 June when they face down Cameroon.

UK residents will recognise Robin van Persie, the 26 year old Arsenal vice captain and Dirk Kuyt, the 29 year old Liverpool striker in the Dutch side.

The Netherlands are looking on form they won all eight qualification games, and should be confident in the group. Coach Bert van Marwijk was typically modest saying “we have know that if we have our strongest team and everyone is in form, we can beat everyone. We must have the right form and the right mentality. You have to have confidence in yourself, but you must not be arrogant.”

The real danger is Cameroon, the Indomitable Lions, have played more games and notched up more points than any other African side at a FIFA World Cup finals and it should be an interesting tussle between the two sides.

If you want watch a game and have a beer then you can’t really go far wrong heading down to the Lediesplein and choosing from the bars around there. If you’re wondering what to drink then remember the Netherland’s is the home of Grolsch, Amstel and Heineken as well as hundreds of independent breweries. Enjoy.

P&O Ferries run the Hull to Rotterdam service, or the Hull to Zeebrugge, in which case it’s only a short hop across the Belgian border into Holland.

Image Credit Wiki Commons

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