The Clockwork Oranje Podcast

The 2026 World Cup is here, and on the eve of the tournament, Finley Crebolder and Paul Winters discuss all things Oranje. The two give their thoughts on the squad that Ronald Koeman selected, the impact of Jurrien Timber's withdrawal, and the key takeaways from the friendlies with Algeria and Uzbekistan, from Crysencio Summerville's performances to Donyell Malen's struggles. They then look ahead...

Robin van Persie flying through the air. Arjen Robben running faster than you can say 5-1. Klaas-Jan Huntelaar kicking down the corner flag. Tim Krul coming off the bench. The 2014 World Cup was full of unforgettable memories, and Finley Crebolder and Paul Winters look back on them in this special episode. Going from the mess Louis van Gaal inherited in 2012 to the madness of all seven matches in...

The 2026 World Cup is getting closer and closer, and in the second episode of Clockwork Oranje's coverage, Finley Crebolder and Paul Winters discuss the Netherlands' first warm-up friendlies and the most likely squad. Key topics of discussion include whether Kees Smit impressed on his debut, how Teun Koopmeiners did as a right winger, the mistakes Ronald Koeman made against Ecuador and which 26 pl...

The draw for the 2026 World Cup has been made, and the Clockwork Oranje Podcast is back to dissect it. Finley Crebolder is joined by Paul Winters for the first episode of 2026 World Cup coverage, and the two discuss how they feel about the group that the Netherlands have been handed, and look at who they're likely to face in the following rounds. They also look back at qualifying, picking out the...

We’re now four games into Ronald Koeman’s second spell as Netherlands manager, and things aren’t going too well, with the side just losing 4-2 to Croatia and 3-2 to Italy on home turf. Kevin from Oranje Canada joins us for the latest episode, which we begin by going through those matches, giving our thoughts on what exactly went wrong and what went right, if anything. We then have more specific di...

The 2022 World Cup is just days away, and the Clockwork Oranje preview of it is here. Prior to recording, we asked all of you to send in any questions you had about Oranje ahead of the tournament, and the preview is based around our answers to those questions. Who should start in goal? How big a part will Xavi Simons play? How far can the Netherlands ultimately get? We give our opinion on all of t...

The story of the Netherlands' 2010 World Cup was one of delight, devastation and division, and we relived it all in the latest episode of the podcast... In the first of a few episodes looking back at select World Cups ahead of this year's in Qatar, we kick things off by looking at the squad the Dutch were taking to South Africa and what the pre-tournament expectations were for the side. We then go...

A lot has happened in the world of Oranje so far in 2022, and we take a look at all of it in the first podcast episode of the year. Well, it's actually just me - Finley - rather than we this time around, and I kick things by giving my thoughts on the first matches of the year against Denmark and Germany and the 3-4-1-2 system that we used for the first time in them. Specifically, I pick out what I...

The Netherlands are back in the World Cup, and we discuss how they got there, how they look and how good it feels in the latest podcast. The last episode was recorded before Louis van Gaal had taken charge of a match, so we start this one by giving our views on how he had been doing prior to the last two games of qualifying. We then turn our attention to them, discussing what went wrong, what went...

Louis van Gaal is the Netherlands manager once again, and we discuss his appointment in the latest episode of the podcast. First things first, we take a look back at his last spell as the Oranje boss from 2012 to 2014 in which he led the team to third place at the World Cup. Just how good a job did he do that back then? And how does that squad compare to the current one? Based on what he did in th...

The Netherlands' Euro 2020 campaign is over. Frank de Boer's time in charge is over. Yeah, it's fair to say that we have a lot to discuss... The only place to start is with the match that caused the above things to happen, a 2-0 defeat to Czech Republic.  Going down to 10 men was the final nail in the coffin, but even before that, the team looked really, really poor. After a successful group stage...

Three matches into Euro 2020, things are going pretty perfectly for the Netherlands, with three wins out of three. But just how good have they really been? To start off with, we take a look at each of the three matches individually, assessing the performances and picking out the strengths and weaknesses of the team in them. When it comes to weaknesses, the biggest one is undoubtedly how vulnerable...

In the latest podcast episode, we preview the first major tournament in seven years that the Netherlands will be a part of, Euro 2020. First things first, We pick up from where we left off in the last episode, giving our thoughts on the squad that Frank de Boer ultimately opted to take to the Euros. We then analyse the warm-up matches that took place against Scotland and Georgia, picking out the g...

The first Netherlands squad to play at a major tournament since 2014 is set to be announced, and we've predicted who will be in it. We - Finley Crebolder and Peter McVitie - kick things off by looking at the side's goalkeeping options, and are in agreement about who the three to be included will be. In the defence meanwhile, a huge amount depends on injury recoveries. Will Virgil van Dijk and Dale...

They may have won two of them, but it's hard not to be worried after the Netherlands' first games of 2021. Frank de Boer's side followed up a 4-2 defeat to Turkey with a 2-0 win against Latvia and a 7-0 win over Gibraltar, and we start the latest episode of the Clockwork Oranje podcast off by analysing what went wrong and what right in the three games. After that, we then take an in-depth look at...

The first podcast episode of 2021 looks ahead to the Netherlands' first matches of the year. Before they do so though, Finley Crebolder and Peter McVitie first share their thoughts on Frank de Boer's first five matches in charge and agree that, while they weren't perfect, there are reasons to be cheerful. They then dive into their analysis of the squad for the matches against Turkey, Latvia and Gi...

Frank de Boer is the new Oranje manager, but how did he get the job and will he be any good? All is discussed in the podcast's latest episode. Finley Crebolder is once again joined by Dutch football journalist Peter McVitie, and the pair start off by looking back at Ronald Koeman's time in charge. It featured some great moments but, considering it ended before a major tournament, can it really be...

In 2012, the Netherlands had one of their best squads in years, with key players in form and at their peak. On paper, they looked set to win their first trophy in 22 years. Sadly, football isn't played on paper... Finley Crebolder and Peter McVitie kick the episode off by discussing what shape the side was in pre-tournament and what their own expectations were for Oranje, before going through each...

In Episode 2 of the Clockwork Oranje Podcast, Finley Crebolder tells the story of Euro 1988, a tournament that featured one of the best Dutch teams ever. It also featured one of their best shirts, and Cult Kits join us to discuss it, them and all things football kits. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.clock...

In the first episode of the Clockwork Oranje podcast, Finley Crebolder tells the story of how the Netherlands fared at Euro 2008. He also speaks to Jeroen Janssen, one of the people behind Total Football Festival, about the festival itself and his personal memories of Euro 2008. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visi...