Dirk Kuyt has made his 100th appearance for
Netherlands in the Oranje's World Cup last 16 clash with
Mexico at the Estadio Castelao, Fortaleza.
At the age of 33, Kuyt has become his country's
seventh international centurion after taking his place
in Louis van Gaal's forward line.
Read more after cap...
Consequently, Kuyt moves to within one game of
equalling the tally of Phillip Cocu, who sits sixth in
Netherland's list of most-capped players, and is
closing in on the likes of Rafael van der Vaart and
Giovanni van Bronckhorst.
Former goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar sits atop the
Dutch appearance charts with 130 caps.
Kuyt made his Netherlands debut back in 2004 whilst
with Feyenoord, in Marco van Basten's first game in
charge of the Oranje, against Liechtenstein. Since
then, he has become a key man for the Dutch national
side.
He was called up to compete at both the European
Championships in 2008 and 2012, and was present for
both the 2006 and the 2010 World Cups. At the latter
event, in South Africa, he was part of the squad that
made it all the way to the final before being defeated
by Spain.
While Kuyt has not always been a regular first-team
player for Oranje, he has earned the faith of a number
of different national team coaches for his battling,
committed displays, as well as his versatility.
Kuyt's record of 24 goals in his 99 games to date is
testament, however, to the fact that his contributions
have largely been to do with working for the team and
supporting others, rather than getting on the end of
chances.
His most prolific year with the national side was 2011,
when he scored seven times in 11 appearances.
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