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Dutch stagnation is due to lack of new ideas, new managers at the top

You look at the Dutch team that achieved a pointless 2-0 victory over Sweden on Tuesday, while waving goodbye to qualification for next year's World Cup, and your first thought is: it's the B-team.

That would explain some of the underwhelming names on the team sheet: Lyon's Kenny Tete, Hertha Berlin's Karim Rekik and eternal journeyman Ryan Babel, who was once described by Gary Neville as always fighting with his own feet. But no: also in the team was Arjen Robben, the best Dutch player of this century. It really was Holland's first-choice XI. We don't have anything better, especially since Robben, 33, who scored both Holland's goals, retired from international soccer immediately after the game.