A look back at Wesley Sneijder's incredible international career

An undisputed legend of Dutch football.

As the Netherlands warmed up for their UEFA Nations League clash against France with a 2-1 win over Peru in a friendly, they were also bidding an emotional farewell to one of their all-time greats, Wesley Sneijder.

As Sneijder donned the Oranje for one last time against the South Americans on Thursday night, his compatriots gave him the perfect send-off with a comeback victory. Memphis Depay scored both the goals after Pedro Aquino had given Peru the lead.

Debut

Just when he was beginning to establish himself in Ajax Amsterdam’s first team having graduated from their famed academy, he received his first international call-up for a friendly against Portugal on 30th April 2003.

By that time, he’d already represented their U17 and U19 teams, and had only just made his U21 debut a little over a month earlier. He became the eighth youngest player in Dutch history when he took to the pitch at the Philips Stadion in Eindhoven.

That match ended in a 1-1 draw, with the likes of Edwin van der Saar, Marc Overmars, Edgar Davids and Philip Cocu playing for the Netherlands, and Frank de Boer captaining the side.

Sneijder was a half time substitute for Philip Cocu. Kluivert and Simao were the goalscorers for their respective countries.

First major tournament

Sneijder was named in the squad that would travel to Portugal for the 2004 Euros, and was one of the youngest players for the Netherlands alongside John Heitinga and Arjen Robben.

That tournament is quite memorable for Greece’s remarkable underdog story, as they won the final 1-0 against the hosts in the final in Lisbon.

Although there were several other upsets that took place, the Netherlands were rather underwhelming, finishing second in their group. They got past Sweden on penalties, but lost to Portugal 2-1 in the semis.

Having scored two goals in qualifying, Sneijder was on the bench for the most part, making substitute appearances against Latvia and Germany in the group stage.

World Cup disappointment

The 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany was Sneijder’s first major tournament as a regular in the first team. He appeared mostly in a midfield trio alongside Philip Cocu, Mark van Bommel or Rafael van der Vaart.

He started in all three group matches, helping his country record wins over Ivory Coast and Serbia and Montenegro.

The round of 16 tie against Portugal in Nuremberg, however, was an ultimately disappointing one.

That match is one of the most infamous World Cup matches of all time, and has since come to be referred as the ‘Battle of Nuremberg’ or the ‘Massacre of Nuremberg’.

It ended 1-0 in favor of the Portuguese, but the scoreline doesn’t quite do justice to the chaos that took place on the pitch. Russian referee Valentin Ivanov awarded a record 16 yellow cards and 4 red cards, with Sneijder being one of the recipients of a yellow.

There were three touchline brawls that left a bitter aftertaste for fans and the players, and thus, Sneijder’s first ever World Cup ended in disappointment.

A mixed bag at the 2008 Euros

After having secured a big money move to Real Madrid in 2007 alongside national teammate Arjen Robben, Sneijder was one of the pivotal figures for his country going into the 2008 Euros.

The Netherlands qualified for the tournament on the narrowest of margins, finishing one point ahead of Bulgaria, and 3 behind Romania in Group G. Given the fact that they were drawn with Italy, Romania and France at the Euros, expectations weren’t very high.

However, the Dutch ended up storming through the group stages, winning 3 out of 3 matches. They registered emphatic 3-0 and 4-1 wins over Italy and France respectively, and Sneijder was at the center of it all.

On his 24th birthday, he netted a stunning volley past Gianluigi Buffon, one of the best goalkeepers in the world. He also scored a stoppage time goal against France, and his country were looking like genuine contenders.

Their campaign, however, ended in an anti-climactic fashion, as they crumbled 3-1 to Russia in Basel in the round of 16.

Sneijder, though, was easily one of the best players, and was named in the team of the tournament. He was a superstar in the making, and had finally made a mark on the biggest of stages.

Heartbreak in Johannesberg

The Netherlands were absolutely brilliant in the 2010 World Cup qualifiers. They strolled their way through a fairly easy group, scoring 17 goals, conceding 2, and winning all 8 matches. Expectations were high for the first ever World Cup on African soil.

Sneijder was one of the stand out players in South Africa. The Dutch won all three group games, with him scoring the decisive goal in a 1-0 win over Japan. He was selected as man of the match for two of the group stage matches.

He then went on to score in every knockout match leading up to the final against Slovakia, Brazil and Uruguay (he scored twice in the quarterfinals against Brazil).

Finally, he had a chance to make up for the frustrations at the Euros and the 2006 World Cup. A daunting fixture against European champions Spain awaited in the final.

The match was notable for having the most yellow cards ever awarded at a World Cup final. The Dutch had several opportunities to take the lead, including a one-on-one chance for Robben against Casillas after Sneijder had released him.

The missed opportunities, along with John Heitinga’s red card in extra time, would come back to haunt them. With four minutes plus stoppage time remaining, and the match seemingly headed for a penalty shootout, Fabregas’ perfectly weighted pass was half volleyed into the net by Iniesta.

It was a heartbreaking end to an otherwise excellent tournament for both the Dutch, and Snejder personally – he ended the World Cup as joint top scorer on 5 goals.

Group stage exit at the Euros

Drawn into the group of death at the 2012 Euro Championships, Netherlands faced the daunting prospect of having to get past Germany, Denmark and Portugal. Sneijder was deployed in an unfamiliar left wing role in the 2-1 defeat to Portugal.

They ended up losing all 3 matches, and crashed out at the group stage. In hindsight, that alarming collapse was a sign of things to come, as Dutch football is still recovering from a period of transition that saw them fail to qualify for the 2018 World Cup.

Third place in Brazil

Following the exit at the Euros and the retirement of Mark van Bommel, Sneijder was briefly named captain of the national team before being replaced with van Persie by Louis van Gaal less than a year later.

After another comfortable qualifying campaign, the Netherlands were drawn with defending champions Spain, and a mouthwatering rematch of the 2014 final awaited.

As it turned out, that match was also a landmark for Sneijder – his 100th international appearance. After Alonso had given Spain the lead, the Dutch stormed back to score 5 unanswered goals, with a brace each from van Persie and Robben. Sneijder provided a second half assist for a de Vrij header.

He scored an 88th minute equalizer against Mexico in the 2-1 round of 16 win, and a penalty in the shootout win over Costa Rica in the quarters. In the semis, though, he had his shootout penalty save by Romero, as they fell one step short of the finals.

The third place match was a convincing 3-0 win over Brazil, but Sneijder had to pull out of the starting XI after a pre match injury.

Failure to qualify for Euros and World Cup

As Sneijder neared the end of his international career, it also marked the end of an era for the Dutch. With several new players coming into the national side, they failed to qualify for the 2016 Euros and the 2018 World Cup.

Sneijder was heavily involved in both qualifying campaigns, but by the beginning of 2018, he’d begun to realize that his time was coming to an end.

Retirement and beyond

During a 5-0 win over Luxembourg in June 2017, Sneijder went past Edwin van der Saar as the most capped player in Dutch history.

On the 4th of March he announced his retirement, and played his 134th and final game for his country on the 6th of September against Peru.

Having been released by Nice, he joined Qatari club Al-Gharafa in January to see out the twilight years of his career, where he’s already scored 9 goals in 11 appearances.

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How Netherlands cope without one of their most talismanic leaders of all time will speak volumes of his impact on the national team. Youngsters like Memphis Depay and Justin Kluivert will have to step up and be the torch-bearers of Dutch football for a difficult few years to come, as they try and get back on track starting with the UEFA Nations League and the 2020 Euros.

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A look back at Wesley Sneijder’s incredible international career

By Prathamesh Murugesan | Sep 8, 2018