It may be Halloween in July

I love the orange and black or in case you were wondering the Netherlands.

As Jay Martin - our Coach's Corner featured expert - has said in the past the Dutch never shine during big tournaments because the culture they are brought up in is that of the individual to succeed, not the team - a fundamental flaw when you are playing in a big tournament.

However, the Netherlands have the perfect contingent of players in my mind that if they play like a team should go very, very deep in the tournament.

Arjen Robben and Wesley Sneijder are playing other-worldly football right now. Robben took his game to a new level this year for Bayern Munich, and should he have won the Champions League with the Bundesliga side may have been in the running for the Ballon D'Or as the world's best player. Instead his Dutch teammate Sneijder clipped him in the finals with another fabulous distributing effort with Inter Milan, and for my money is bar none the best playmaking center midfielder in the world right now. It's no wonder really, Sneijder - who to me looks like a hammer-head shark - seemingly has the vision of a hammer-head knowing at all times where all his options are on both sides of the field.

Now picture this embarrassment of riches, Sneijder has Robben on one side of the field, and another super talented left-footer in Robin Van Persie up top and in superb form since his return from a bad ankle injury. Other potential options include Dirk "Diggler" Kuyt, a guy that just has a knack for being in the right place at the right time, as well as Rafael Van der Vaart, Ryan Babel, Klaas Jan Huntelaar, and Eljero Elia - a guy that was tremendous against the U.S. back in early March.

Behind those attacking phenoms is Mark Van Bommel, a guy that is almost like an enforcer known for his crunching tackles to stop counter attacks, and a player that was terrific for Bayern as a holding midfielder this season behind Germany's Bastian Schweinsteiger. He will play in that same position for the Netherlands.

Again the Dutch have a bit of suspect defense, three of the guys they have been running out there are 30 or older (30, 35, and 36), and yes Giovanni van Bronckhorst at age 35 is still playing even though it seems like he has been around forever. However, those guys may not even need to touch the ball the way the flying Dutchman offense should be pouring in goals.

The more I look at this team and the ways its players have been playing the more I think this has to be the year. Forget England, forget Argentina, forget Italy - the four best teams in the world right now are 1. Spain, 2t. Brazil/Netherlands, 4. Germany for my money.

Here's the whole list of 23 players that will be there:

1 Maarten Stekelenburg	Goalkeeper		10 Wesley Sneijder	Midfielder
16 Michel Vorm	Goalkeeper		14 Demy de Zeeuw	Midfielder
22 Sander Boschker	Goalkeeper		18 Stijn Schaars	Midfielder
2 Gregory van der Wiel	Defender		20 ibrahim Afellay	Midfielder
3 John Heitinga	Defender		23 Rafael Van der Vaart	Midfielder
4 Joris Mathijsen	Defender		7 Dirk Kuyt	Striker
12 Khalid Boulahrouz	Defender		9 Robin Van Persie	Striker
13 Andre Ooijer	Defender		11 Arjen Robben	Striker
15 Edson Braafheid	Defender		17 Eljero Elia	Striker
5 Giovanni van Bronckhorst	Midfielder		19 Ryan Babel	Striker
6 Mark van Bommel	Midfielder		21 Klaas Jan Huntelaar	Striker
8 Nigel De Jong	Midfielder		- Bert van Marwijk	Manager/Coach