One of the most important things which people forget about the Dutch World Cup run of 1974 was that it very nearly didn't happen! Under the guidance of Czech-born coach Frantisek Fadrhonc, Holland made heavy weather of qualifying from a group which included their local rivals Belgium as the only serious opposition, Norway being a very much weaker side in the 1970s than they are now. The contest was ultimately decided on goal difference. Holland rattled in considerably more goals against Norway at home and against Iceland home and away, although they struggled to a 2-1 win over Norway in Oslo, central defender Barry Hulshoff scoring the winning goal with just two minutes left.

  There were no "second chance" play-offs in those innocent days, only 16 teams made it to the competition, and, in the European qualifiers at least, you finished top of your group or you watched the World Cup on television.

  The decisive game was a dour 0-0 draw with Belgium in Amsterdam. I've never seen the video, but I've heard from several sources that the visitors had a perfectly good goal disallowed. The second such inconclusive result between the teams, it meant Belgium finished their fixtures without conceding a single goal, but it was all Holland needed, even if it didn't exactly set the football world on fire. Maybe they were trying to lull everyone else into a false sense of security...

Scorers: Neeskens 21 mins, Neeskens 51 mins, Cruyff 55 mins, Neeskens 63 mins, De Jong 70 mins, Brokamp 76 mins, Keizer (pen) 80 mins, Cruyff 82 mins, Brokamp 87 mins.

Unused subs: Schrijvers, Schneider, Jansen, Pahlplatz, Wery.