The rivalry between the Netherlands and Germany

If both sides progress through the round of 32 and the round of 16, the Netherlands and Germany could potentially meet in the quarter-finals of this World Cup.

Should that scenario arise, it would revive one of international football’s most intense rivalries.

It would also bring back memories of the 1974 World Cup final in Munich, which West Germany won despite the Netherlands, led by Johan Cruyff, entering the match as favourites. The game came to symbolise the clash between pragmatic efficiency and the Netherlands’ “Total Football” philosophy developed by coach Rinus Michels.

It would also recall the 1990 World Cup meeting in Italy, when both sides ended their round of 16 clash in Naples with ten men after Frank Rijkaard and Rudi Völler were sent off following an on-pitch altercation. Rijkaard’s act of spitting at Völler as they left the field remains one of that tournament’s most controversial images.

If the two nations meet again, Dutch supporters, often dressed in orange, would be expected to travel in large numbers. Despite restrictions on flags and banners, it would be no surprise if a slogan such as “Geef ons onze fietsen terug!” (“Give us our bicycles back!”) appeared in the stands.

This phrase reflects a long-standing historical undercurrent to the rivalry, which extends beyond sport into political, cultural, and historical memory.

In the case of the Netherlands, the occupation of the country by Nazi Germany during the Second World War left a deep and lasting impact on national identity.

Although the Netherlands initially declared neutrality at the outbreak of war, this was ignored when Germany launched its invasion in 1940, together with Belgium and Luxembourg.

The Dutch army, underprepared and poorly equipped, was defeated within days. Cities such as Rotterdam suffered heavy aerial bombardment and widespread destruction, resulting in significant civilian casualties.

For much of the following five years, the Netherlands remained under occupation, with strict control imposed over government, media, and everyday life.

Repression intensified as Nazi policies targeted political opponents and, increasingly, Jewish communities. Jewish citizens were first excluded from public life, then forced into registration, before mass deportations to camps in Germany and occupied Poland, where many were murdered. This period was famously documented by Anne Frank, whose diary was written before her family was betrayed. She later died in Bergen-Belsen concentration camp.

Non-Jewish citizens also faced censorship, surveillance, and rationing, which became increasingly severe as the war turned against Germany.

The winter of 1944–45, known as the “Hunger Winter”, brought extreme food shortages across the country. Widespread starvation forced many to survive on whatever sources of nutrition were available, and mortality rates rose sharply among vulnerable groups.

The experience of occupation left a profound imprint on Dutch society, shaping post-war memory and identity. For some, it also fostered enduring resentment towards Germany and a lasting mistrust rooted in wartime experience.

Although less significant in scale than other aspects of occupation, the practice of confiscating bicycles and transporting them to Germany became a particular point of irritation in a country where cycling is central to daily life.

One player who carried a deeply personal connection to the conflict was midfielder Willem van Hanegem, nicknamed “The Crooked One”, who featured in the 1974 World Cup final. Born in February 1944, he lost several members of his family during an Allied bombing raid later that year, after a shelter they were using was struck. He held Germany responsible for the war in general, and the experience shaped his emotions around the fixture.

Van Hanegem left the pitch in Munich in tears.

Fourteen years later, after the Netherlands defeated Germany in the semi-finals of the European Championship in Hamburg, Dutch goalkeeper Hans van Breukelen remarked that the victory felt like a “gift to the older generation, those who lived through the war.”

Football and War

This narrative is one of those featured in the recently published book “Football and War”, which explores how international football often reflects deeper historical and geopolitical tensions between nations.

The book traces the game’s development from its nineteenth-century codification through its global expansion, examining how football has become a medium for identity, rivalry, memory, and political expression.

One such memorable incident were the three World Cup matches between El Salvador and Honduras in 1969, which led directly to the “Football War”, a conflict that left 6,000 dead and many more displaced.

Age-old enmities between England and Scotland, Brazil and Argentina, Chile and Peru, and South Korea and Japan are also explored, alongside a number of others that reinforce the idea that football is war without shooting—and sometimes more than that.

By Andy Dalziel co-author of Football and War