Netherlands and other football powerhouses to miss the bus

Netherlands this week failed to qualify for the UEFA European Championship after losing to Czech Republic 2-3 in the final round of qualifying matches in Amsterdam. TOI Sports presents few more instances when football powerhouses famously missed out of major tournaments.
Netherlands
Netherlands will miss the European Championship for the first time since 1984. That means a team which finished third at the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil will not feature in the Euro 2016.The Oranje are one the most famous team in football and their absence will be missed in France next summer. It was a heartbreaking result for the Dutch team, which boasts an array of stars like Robin van Persie, Arjen Robben and Wesley Sneijder.
The Dutch finished a dismal fourth in Group A, in spite of being the top ranked team in the group, as they lost five out of the ten qualifying matches. A narrow 0-1 loss to Iceland and a 0-3 thrashing by Turkey inside three days in early September turned out to be very expensive for them in the end. They will be missing the continental championship after featuring seven consecutive times previously and winning once in 1988.
The former European champions also surprisingly failed to make it to the FIFA World Cup in South Korea and Japan in 2002, which eventually forced current Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal to resign as chief coach.
Team Record
FIFA World Cup: Thrice runners-up in 1974, 1978 and 2010
UEFA European Championship: Champions in 1988
England
The standard of UEFA affiliated national teams can be gauged from the fact that even the highly popular English team, though sometimes overrated, too failed to qualify for the 2008 European Championship co-hosted by Austria and Switzerland. The star-studded England team lost their crucial qualifying match against Russia 1-2 away in Moscow, with the hosts famously rallying after a Wayne Rooney goal through a brace by Roman Pavlyuchenko in the second half. In the end of the qualifying campaign, Russia finished a point ahead of England to book their ticket to Euro 2008. The failure resulted in the sacking of head coach Steve McClaren unanimously by the English FA after only 16 months in charge.
Before that, the former world champions had last missed a major event in 1994, when they failed to qualify for the World Cup in the USA after finishing a creditable fourth in the previous edition in Italy.
Team Record
FIFA World Cup: Champions in 1966
UEFA European Championship: Twice finished third in 1968 & 1996

Paraguay's players celebrate after defeating Brazil in the penalty shoot-out of their 2015 Copa America quarter-final match. (AFP Photo)
Brazil
Synonymous with the beautiful game, Brazil is the only team to play in all the editions of the World Cup since its inception in 1930, winning a record five times. They also featured in all the editions of their continental tournament, Copa America, winning it five times too. But they are going to miss the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup in Russia, after they failed to win either of the 2014 World Cup at home or the 2015 Copa America in Chile. It will be the first time in two decades that Brazil will be missing an important FIFA event.
Team Record
FIFA World Cup: Champions in 1958, 1962, 1970, 1994 & 2002
Copa America: Champions in 1989, 1997, 1999, 2004 & 2007
France
France are another European power to miss out not once, but two successive World Cups in 1990 (Italy) and 1994 (USA). They finished third in the 1986 edition in Mexico before the long slump and they avoided the dreaded qualifying campaign, for being the hosts, of the 1998 edition. But they surprised the world at home as they won their maiden world title, riding on the brilliance of the charismatic Zinedine Zidane.
France also missed out of the 1988 European Championship in Germany soon after winning the continental title in 1984 at home, their maiden big ticket title, and they went on to win it again in 2000 as the world champions.
Team Record
FIFA World Cup: Champions in 1998
UEFA European Championship: Champions in 1984 & 2000
Italy
Italy are one of the most successful team in the world of football, winning the World Cup four times along with one European title. But since 1980, they too have failed to play in two European championships - the first just two years after winning the world title in 1982 and second in 1992 after a third-place finish at home.
Team Record
FIFA World Cup: Champions in 1934, 1938, 1982 & 2006
UEFA European Championship: Champions in 1968