De Jong talks up Dutch substance

IT’S quarter-final time, the Dutch are flying, the Oranje Army is in full voice and expectations are high.

Under normal circumstances the next chapter would be a footballing feast against Brazil and a rueful wave goodbye from the Netherlands at the end of the night; but this time the script could well be different.

There is a growing feeling in the Low Countries that Bert VanMarwijk’s side are the team that could break the mould and end the stereotype that hangs to the Netherlands’ back like a screaming toddler who doesn’t want to leave the house.