After an eight-year absence, Netherlands will return to the World Cup stage when they face Senegal at the Al Thumama Stadium in Qatar on Monday.
Arguably the greatest footballing nation yet to lift the biggest prize of all, Netherlands will be hoping to end their hoodoo - which has seen them lose in the final three times - this winter.
Louis van Gaal's side face a difficult start to their campaign, though, with an opening match against the reigning Africa Cup of Nations champions.
Here, Sports Mole looks are some reasons why the Dutch should be confident of beginning with a victory.
Unbeaten record
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Netherlands have never played Senegal before, but their record against African opposition at the World Cup is so far unblemished with three wins and a draw from their four previous such matches.
Those three wins have all come in their last three such games too, and all by a 2-1 scoreline, with victories over Morocco in 1994, Ivory Coast in 2006 and Cameroon in 2010.
The only African side Netherlands have failed to beat in the World Cup were Egypt in the group stage of the 1990 tournament, when the then-European champions drew all three of their group games.
Holland are also unbeaten in their last eight opening matches at World Cups, winning six and drawing two in a run which stretches back to 1938.
The Dutch were beaten in the opening games at both the 1934 and 1938 editions, but that was before they became a footballing powerhouse and, since returning to the World Cup stage in 1974, they have not lost a curtain-raiser.
Goals are likely
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Both teams will be without their leading scorers - Memphis Depay for Netherlands and Sadio Mane for Senegal - yet goals are still expected.
None of Senegal's eight previous matches at the World Cup have ended goalless, and you have to go back to their first-ever outing on the biggest stage for their only clean sheet in the competition - that famous triumph over France.
Given that Mane's absence has almost halved the number of goals in their squad, with their leading scorers now 10-goal duo Ismaila Sarr and Famara Diedhiou, it looks more likely that any goals will come from Netherlands.
That said, no player in the Dutch squad apart from Depay has reached double figures in terms of goals for their country, so Louis van Gaal will need a new hero to step up.
Good recent World Cup record
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Netherlands famously missed out in Russia four years ago, but when they have made it to the World Cup, their record is impressive.
Van Gaal led the Oranje to a third-place finish on their last involvement in 2014, only losing their semi-final against Argentina on penalties.
Indeed, excluding penalty shootouts, Netherlands have only lost one of their last 14 World Cup matches - the 2010 final against Spain - and winning 11 of those.
In the group stages, Netherlands have not tasted defeat since 1994, when they lost 1-0 to Belgium.
Barney Corkhill
Netherlands
Senegal
Ecuador
Qatar
England
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Wales
Argentina
Poland
Mexico
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Tunisia
Denmark
Japan
Spain
Germany
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Morocco
Croatia
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Brazil
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