Oranje

Wesley Sneijder is saying goodbye to international football, he announced on Sunday. The decision was made in consultation with new coach Ronald Koeman.  He hopes to play one last match for the Dutch national team. "It is my wish - and that is known by the KNVB - to say goodbye to my fellow internationals and the Oranje fans in a beautiful way", Sneijder said to the Telegraaf on Monday.

Ronald Koeman will be signing a contract next week to coach the Dutch national football team up to and including the World Cup of 2022, the Telegraaf reports. The former Barca player reached an agreement with football association KNVB and will sign his contract next Friday. His performance will be evaluated before or after the European Championships in 2020, according to the newspaper.

Koeman confirmed last week that he is in talks with the KNVB. It is expected that he will start coaching Oranje in March already.

Lieke Martens was named female football player of the year at the FIFA Gala on Monday. And coach Sarina Wiegman won the title of best coach of a women's team. The two women, and the rest of the Oranje Lionesses, won the European Championship over the summer. The Dutch women were not at the award ceremony in London, because they are preparing for the World Cup qualifier against Norway in Groningen on Tuesday, NU.nl reports.

Dutch football association KNVB declared 1,461 tickets for the match between Oranje and Sweden invalid because they were offered on resale websites for too high prices. "We want football to remain accessible to everyone", KNVB director Gijs de Jong said to the Telegraaf.

Whether the Dutch national football team will be able to qualify for the World Cup in Russia next year, is a question that's on the mind of every sports lover in the Netherlands today, including the government. Almost all Dutch Ministers watched Oranje lose 4-0 against France in the qualifier on Thursday, according to broadcaster NOS.

The Dutch national women's football team won the last group match against Belgium 2-1 on Monday. The Oranje women is thereby the group winner and progressing to the European Championships quarterfinals, NU.nl reports. 

Sherida Spitse scored the first goal for the Netherlands halfway through the first half in the Koning Willem II stadium in Tilburg. An hour into the match Belgium came back with a goal by Tessa Wullaert. In the 75th minute Lieke Martens scored, brining the Netherlands to 2-1 and to victory. 

The footballers in the Dutch national team were surprised by the KNVB's choice to name Dick Advocaat the new coach, KNVB technical director Hans van Breukelen said in a press conference on Tuesday. "But like me they are professionals and they can also go somewhere else", he said, according to RTL Nieuws.

The Amsterdam ArenA football stadium and concert venue will be renamed Johan Cruijff Arena, a move that will no doubt please fans of both Amsterdam football club AFC Ajax and the Dutch national football team. The announcement was made late on Tuesday evening, what would have been Cruijff's 70th birthday.

Rumours on social media say that Dutch football team Oranje is getting a new kit, and this time the kit is not in the well-loved bright orange... sort of. In reality, the design is a study and rendering from freelance graphic designer FC Design.

His kit is made to look like an oil painting, with brushwork reminiscent of Vincent van Gogh. While this seems like a nice idea, the picture of the proposed jersey was not well received on social media.

The fact that the Netherlands national football team is not playing in the European Championships this year, is saving employers in the country millions of euros and boosting the Dutch economy, according to Acture

Two million households in the Netherlands were tuned in to see the Dutch men’s national football team lose in Amsterdam to France. The international friendly match was halted in the 14th minute for a stirring tribute to Oranje football legend Johan Cruijff, who died of cancer earlier this week at the age of 68.