The KNVB will present national coach Louis van Gaal and his technical staff next Tuesday from 3 p.m. This takes place at the KNVB Campus in Zeist. Director of top football Nico-Jan Hoogma will introduce the new technical leadership, which also consists of Frans Hoek, Danny Blind and Henk Fraser. The press conference will be broadcast live on Voetbalzone.
Van Gaal is the successor of Frank de Boer, who resigned more than a month ago after the disappointing European Championship. The the Dutch squad won all three games in the group stage, but surprisingly lost 2-0 to the Czech Republic in the eighth finals. It was important for the KNVB to quickly find a successor to De Boer, because the the Dutch squad will continue the qualifying series for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar in September.
Van Gaal will announce his first pre-selection two days prior to his presentation, on Sunday 15 August. On September 1, the the Dutch squad will play in and against Norway in the World Cup qualifiers. This is followed by duels with Montenegro (September 4) and Turkey (September 7). At the moment, the the Dutch squad occupies second place in Group G with six points from three games and Turkey is in the lead with seven points.
Montenegro and Norway are also on six points, but are lower than the Netherlands due to a less goal difference. Only the number one in the group qualifies directly for the World Cup in Qatar. The numbers two from the ten different groups and the two best group winners from the 2020/21 Nations League who fall outside the top two of their World Cup qualifying group will participate in the play-offs.
The total of twelve countries will be divided into three play-off paths, each containing two semi-finals over one match and one final. The home teams in the play-offs are determined by drawing lots, with the six best numbers two placed and therefore unable to meet. The winner of each path qualifies for the 2022 World Cup.
Van Gaal will be the national coach of the Dutch national team for the third time. He also led the group from 2000 to 2002 and from 2012 to 2014, with mixed results. In his first period, the the Dutch squad did not qualify for the 2002 World Cup, but Van Gaal led the team to third place at the World Cup in 2014.