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It has been quite the World Cup so far. France are busier with infighting than with playing football, Germany thrashed Australia with superb attacking football before losing to Serbia, England still await their first win after two games, favourites Spain were beaten by minnows Switzerland, African giants Cameroon are already eliminated, while Netherlands are the first team to have made it to the knock-out phase after two of the worst matches of this summer.

Say what? Netherlands were involved in two of the worst matches of the 2010 World Cup so far? That's right! Oranje might be a team that is known for its attacking football mentality and total football, but the Dutch have been far from impressive in their first two matches of this summer's tournament.

Holland started the World Cup with a 2-0 win against Denmark, but the final result doesn't really tell the story of the match. Denmark coach Morten Olsen pretty much fielded a 4-5-1 formation to frustrate the Dutch and Oranje needed an own goal from Simon Poulsen to open the score before eventually adding a second in the dying minutes of the match.

Netherlands then recorded a narrow 1-0 victory against Japan to pick up their second win. The Asians started even more defensive than Denmark, as head coach Takeshi Okada's only striker was actually a midfielder. Oranje hardly created any chances, but a Wesley Sneijder strike minutes after the break was enough to secure the full three points and progress to the first knock-out round.

The defensive tactics of Holland's opponents are not the sole reason for Oranje's failure to shine so far though. Expectations were very high ahead of the World Cup following the superb club seasons of Arjen Robben with Bayern Munich and Wesley Sneijder at Inter. Additionally, Dirk Kuyt, Robin van Persie and Rafael van der Vaart have all proven their worth at the highest level already. Nevertheless, none of the aforementioned players have reached peak form just yet.

Van der Vaart has been used as left winger so far and was twice withdrawn in the second half after a disappointing performance. Van Persie might have been involved in two of Holland's three goals so far, but has hardly created anything beside that. Kuyt has worked hard, but lacks the cutting edge to make an impact. Sneijder might have picked up the FIFA Man of the Match award in two games, but the playmaker has only unleashed one good shot and given one great pass. Finally, Robben has been warming the bench due to a hamstring injury.

Whereas Germany impressed with a superb display of 'Dutch total football' in their opener against Australia (as discussed by my colleague Clark Whitney here), the Netherlands have been remarkably solid at the back, a feat more common to be showcased by the Nationalelf. The Dutch defence has looked very reliable so far, with right back Gregory van der Wiel as the only defender who has showed the willingness to get forward and help the Dutch attack. John Heitinga, Joris Mathijsen and Gio van Bronckhorst have mainly focussed on their defensive tasks and have done so quite impressively. With the support of holding midfielders Mark van Bommel and Nigel 'mean machine' de Jong, Holland's defence has looked surprisingly strong.

In the past, both the Dutch players and their fans would probably not have accepted the performances of Oranje in the group phase. However, the Oranje faithful have been waiting for success since Euro '88 and just want their team to lift the trophy this summer, no matter how. The players, too, aren't too disappointed that they haven't been able to play their usual attacking style of play. Most of the Netherlands' stars have matured since Euro '08 and are in the prime of their careers, ready to do what no Dutch generation has ever done before.

Netherlands are now the first team to have qualified for the round of 16 and they need 'only' five more wins if they are to lift the trophy come 11 July. Oranje still have another gear to go up with the imminent return of Robben and players such as Van Persie and Sneijder slowly nearing peak form. The Dutch are without a doubt on the right track.