Fire of Holland's future beyond the trauma of not making it to Euro 2016

The pain of not doing the European Championship is still raw but, as they prepare to face England, are looking for young people to build a new side

Esley Sneijder put his finger on the pulse national in Holland. "This summer I will go away," said the midfielder. "I go to a place where I can't watch any game, none of them at all." The European Championships in France was supposed to be Impossible for Nations set out to lose. Expanded to 24 teams, the safety net had been spread far and wide – but Holland still found a way to slip through.

For the first time since 2002, when Louis van Gaal failed to take a team that featured Edwin van der Sar, Marc Overmars, Patrick Kluivert and a host of star names at the World Cup in South Korea and Japan, Holland will be absent from the list of starring in major finals.

The Dutch are the most egregious of absentees and the fall-out and spiritual quest from their botched qualifying campaign, which began badly under Guus Hiddink and tail under Danny Blind, it is likely that ceases only when the Championship is over.

Meanwhile, Holland were reduced to provide the opposition to tune-up for England at Wembley on Tuesday, having fulfilled a similar role against France in the Amsterdam Arena on Friday, a game they lost 3-2.

Definitely wasn't supposed to be this way and it says a lot that, rather than players, the stars of Dutch sport hot are the Formula one driver Max Verstappen, Speedster Daphne Schippers and women's national handball team. SCHIPPERS and handball will go for gold at the Olympics in Rio in August.

It feels like a trick of the mind that as recently as July 2014 Holland were denied a place in a second successive World Cup finals after a semi-final defeat on penalties by Argentina. That was the summer of Van Gaal, in his second stint in charge of the national team, pulling her cheating before the defeat by penalty shootout of quarterfinal of Costa Rica, when she brought the Tim Krul for Jasper Cillessen in goal and strikes fear into opposing defenses of Arjen Robben.

For the record the Netherlands ended up quarters in their qualifying Group of European Championship, behind the Czech Republic, Iceland and Turkey, after losing five of their 10 ties. Also, were well beaten on every occasion. The breakup was traumatic as it was unexpected.

Blind will oversee the 2018 World Cup campaign and his short-term priority is to stabilize and inject confidence, flickering of which was evident in the 3-2 victory in November against Wales in Cardiff, when Robben made the difference with two goals. The team relies heavily on Captain, but he is currently unavailable due to a thigh problem.

Blind was forced to contend with injuries; Ron Vlaar and defenders Stefan de Vrij are among those out while Robin van Persie was deemed lacking sharpness from blind. Van Persie, now 32 and Fenerbahce, was left off the team.

Sneijder has made the point that there is little remaining of its peer group for the games in France and England. "I was chatting with Klaas-Jan [Huntelaar] and we realized we were the only guys left," said Sneijder. "We only see the young boys around us."

Sneijder and Huntelaar was part of the team that reached the final of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, when they lost against Spain, along with Robben, Van Persie and Ibrahim Afellay, the wing of Stoke City, who was a late call to the current part after a clutch of injury withdrawals.

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But it is a measure of the changing face of Holland that blind chose or was able to choose only four of the team that started the semi-final against Argentina the last World Cup – Sneijder, Cillessen, Gini Wijnaldum and his son, Daley.

Sneijder, 31 and Huntelaar, 32, are the oldest members of the selection of blind and, at times like these, it is tempting to lament the age group that Holland seemed to miss. In 2007, were the winners of the European Championship Under-21, but by that team, only Vlaar and, to a lesser extent, Krul have continued to be senior international successes. Royston Drenthe, Ryan Babel, Daniël de Ridder, Ryan Donk and Hedwiges Maduro were aiming to become pillars for their country, but, for various reasons, it didn't happen.

Focus, inevitably, during a period of renewal turned to young talents of the nation and there is a special buzz about Ajax midfielders Davy Klaassen and Riechedly Bazoer. Klaassen, a naturally creative player, is the club captain at 23 while Bazoer 19-year-old, who is fast and powerful, has been likened to Patrick Vieira by former Ajax youth coach Fons Groendijk.

Bazoer could go to Manchester City at 16 just to move, controversially, from PSV Eindhoven to Ajax and almost all Europe's biggest clubs are tracking him. Came up against France for the injured Sneijder and it will be interesting to see if it is involved at Wembley. AZ Alkmaar striker 21-year-old, Vincent Janssen, who is the top scorer in the Dutch League this season with 20 goals, is a part of the team for the first time and then there's Memphis Depay.

When the 22-year-old winger switched PSV to Manchester United last summer, there was hope that he would take the Premier League by storm. Instead he fought and there has been criticism in the Netherlands that is more concerned with her fashion choices that football. Depay reported for international duty this season wearing a wide-brimmed hat and a large, red scarf, Louis Vuitton, a look that was satire. Clearly, Depay she could wear whatever he wanted without complaints if it was routinely cut a dash on the field.

Blind named seven players in his original team, PSV before withdrawals and the club impressed during this season's Champions League, taking 16 penalties in recent Atlético Madrid before going out, but there is a general lack of top level experience and you notice how few blind players are much bigger clubs.

Apart from Robben Bayern Munich there are Daley Blind and Depay in a Kingdom uninspiring and that is pretty much it. There was once a time when Real Madrid had six Dutchmen – Ruud Van Nistelrooy, Sneijder, Robben, Rafael van der Vaart, Huntelaar and Drenthe. Today, only Van der Vaart and Ricky van Wolfswinkel are at Spanish club Real Betis, both with – and neither is close to the team of Holland. Van der Vaart has fallen out of favor and is not on the team.

There is an affinity to Holland for the Belgium team at the European Championship, in large part because some of their squad have played in the Eredivisie and Sneijder reference them when assessed State of transition, where Holland youth prospects need time and the old guard are largely gone or going. "Belgium are now contenders for the title, but they had some rough years," Sneijder said. "This is what we had right now."

Sneijder used the past tense to describe misfortunes sideways, like that optimistic so beloved of football players, but he is not blind to reality. Holland must retake the long way to the top.

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