Hockey - Team Netherlands

General
The Netherlands secured their spot in Tokyo with a victory over Pakistan in a two-match series in the 2019 Men's FIH Olympic Qualifiers. Played in Amstelveen, the two sides drew the opener 4-4 but the Dutch dominated in the second, taking the match 6-1 for a 10-5 aggregate win.

They are bidding to win their third Olympic gold in Tokyo, following back-to-back gold medals at the Games in 1996 and 2000. The Dutch almost made it three-in-a-row in 2004 but lost the final in Athens in extra time to Australia. They were also defeated by Australia in the bronze medal match at the 2008 Games in Beijing. They returned to the final at London 2012 but were beaten 2-1 by Germany, and the Germans got the better of them again in Rio in 2016 via a penalty shootout in the bronze medal match. Only India have made more appearances at the Olympic Games than the Netherlands, and the Dutch have more Olympic silver medals [four] than any other nation.

The Netherlands have also been runners-up at the World Cup more times than any other team. They have finished second on four occasions, including at the World Cups in 2014 and 2018 when they lost to Australia and Belgium, respectively. The most recent of their three World Cup triumphs came in 1998.

The Netherlands managed to convert finals appearances into titles more regularly at the Champions Trophy, claiming eight wins and six runner-up finishes between 1981 and 2018. In 2019, at the inaugural edition of the Pro League, they were defeated by Belgium 3-1 in the semifinals before overcoming Great Britain in the third-place match.