Holland's hopes at the World Cup will live and die with an aging defense. The starting back four looks like Giovanni v. Bronckhorst and Andre Ooijer, both 35, Joris Mathijsen, 30, and Gregory v. d. Wiel, 22. V.d. Wiel is ready for primetime even if he only has eight caps; the rest are daytime reruns under serious pressure with their best days behind them.
The one defender supposed to truly be in the prime of his career is Khalid "the Cannibal" Boulahrouz--but he's had little to eat lately: the Cannibal has had two injury-marred seasons since moving to Stuttgart in 2008 after rotting on the bench for two years at Chelsea and Sevilla. If anyone can regain form quickly, it's the Cannibal, so let's see. When healthy he can play anywhere on the back line, and he's a goalkeeper's best friend.
Scoring goals will not be a problem for the Dutch. There were no surprise cuts up front, and this is a team loaded with creativity on the ball. Wesley Sneijder and Rafael v. d. Vaart will run the attack from midfield, and Arjen Robben and Robin v. Persie will be the primary targets up front. The bench will feature Dirk Kuyt and Klaas Jan Huntelaar. If Kuyt starts, Robben can slide back into midfield and the Dutch can run an extremely aggressive 4-1-3-2.
The most important man, then, might just be the "1" in that formation: holding midfielder Mark v. Bommel. If v. Bommel can make the back line's job easy, the Dutch will go deep into this tournament. If he does not play up to par, Holland will fall against the first team it sees in the knockout round that can hold its shape and counterattack the Dutch.
The group stage should be relatively easy pickings for Holland, but to borrow a phrase from poker, the Denmark game on June 14 will be the "tell". If Denmark plays within itself, controls the Dutch firepower, and gets a result, then Holland is in serious trouble going forward. If Denmark spends the game on its heels, Holland can go all the way.
Of the travelling party, nine men (including all three goalkeepers) play their soccer in Holland, while 14 play abroad. No domestic forwards were chosen and all four final cuts are home-based players. If the team somehow collapses early, it'll be chalked up to too many foreign-based players. I think that's unfair, but life's unfair. And soccer's less fair than just about anything.
Squad
Goalkeepers: Sander Boschker (FC Twente), Maarten Stekelenburg (Ajax), Michel Vorm (FC Utrecht)
Defenders: Khalid Boulahrouz (Stuttgart), Edson Braafheid (Celtic), John Heitinga (Everton), Joris Mathijsen (Hamburg), Andre Ooijer (PSV Eindhoven), Giovanni v. Bronckhorst (Feyenoord), Gregory v. der Wiel (Ajax)
Midfielders: Ibrahim Afellay (PSV Eindhoven), Nigel de Jong (Manchester City), Demy de Zeeuw (Ajax), Stijn Schaars (AZ Alkmaar), Wesley Sneijder (Inter Milan), Mark v. Bommel (Bayern Munich), Rafael v. d. Vaart (Real Madrid)
Forwards: Ryan Babel (Liverpool), Eljero Elia (Hamburg), Klaas Jan Huntelaar (AC Milan), Dirk Kuyt (Liverpool), Arjen Robben (Bayern Munich), Robin v. Persie (Arsenal)
Cut: Vurnon Anita (Ajax), Ron Vlaar (Feyenoord) Orlando Engelaar (PSV), and Jeremain Lens (AZ).