Nickname: The Oranje

How they qualified: 1st Place – 2021 Men’s EuroHockey Championship

Notable honours: 2x Olympic gold medallists (1996, 2000), 3x FIH Men’s World Cup winners (1973, 1990, 1998), FIH Hockey Pro League champions (2021-22), FIH Hockey Pro League bronze medallists (2019), 8x FIH Champions Trophy winners (1981, 1982, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2006), Hockey World League winners (2012-14 Edition), 6x European champions (1983, 1987, 2007, 2015, 2017, 2021).

Rank in previous WC editions: 1971 – 6th, 1973 – 1st, 1975 – 9th, 1978 – 2nd, 1982 – 4th, 1986 – 7th, 1990 – 1st, 1994 – 2nd, 1998 – 1st, 2002 – 3rd, 2006 – 7th, 2010 – 3rd, 2014 – 2nd, 2018 – 2nd.

Under head coach Jeroen Delmee, the legendary Dutch defender who as a player won two Olympic gold medals, the Netherlands have found a consistency in their performance levels which has already started to reap rewards. Since taking charge in the latter part of 2021, Delmee has injected a significant amount of fresh talent into the Oranje squad.

The young guns rose to the challenge in style, winning 12 of their 16 matches in the 2021-22 edition of the FIH Hockey Pro League to win the title for the first time. Captain Thierry Brinkman and striker Koen Bijen top scored for the Netherlands with seven goals apiece, with six goals coming from both Dennis Warmerdam and penalty corner ace Jip Janssen. Thanks to their excellent form, three Dutchmen earned nominations for the FIH Hockey Stars Awards for 2021-22, with captain Brinkman shortlisted for the Best Men’s Player prize while Miles Bukkens and Pirmin Blaak were selected for the Rising Star and Best Goalkeeper awards respectively.

Having suffered painful defeats in the last two FIH Men’s World Cup finals, the Netherlands will be aiming to make it third time lucky this time around and win a fourth world crown, a feat only Pakistan have managed to achieve.

One to watch: Thierry Brinkman. A creator and scorer of goals, the Netherlands captain is an inspirational figure who is a key part of the ongoing revolution being led by head coach Jeroen Delmee.