World Cup stories: Ruud Gullit names his favourites to win the tournament, hopes for Netherlands

The Dutch legend named his home country alongside Portugal as "dark horses" to win the tournament, which is now just 32 days away.

Speaking to DAZN News on behalf of MrRaffle.com, Gullit spoke on the Oranje's chances in the competition, which the Dutch have yet to capture despite five top-four finishes in their history.

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"It’s tough to pinpoint [an exact winner] but for me France, Spain and Argentina are still the favourites," Gullit said. "My dark horses are Holland and Portugal."

Regarding the Netherlands, Gullit identified the players he thinks are most likely to stand out in the famous orange jersey.

"I think Cody Gakpo has something to prove — he always does well with the national team," Gullit said. "He scores a lot of goals.

"Donyell Malen is doing well with Roma, also scoring a lot, so he's one to look forward to watching as well. Then of course Tijjani Reijnders has had an on-and-off season. I think he'll want to prove himself at the World Cup, so that could be an advantage for us.

"Jorrel Hato was seeing a lot more action at Chelsea, and he played really well actually, as a left back. That's always been a position that's been so-so for us, so it's good to have someone extra who can do that job."

As for how well the aforementioned players can advance alongside the rest of their Netherlands teammates, Gullit said it's on the team to take the opportunity presented to them.

"I think we have a chance," he said. "We've been beaten twice in [recent] semi-finals - once on penalties [at the 2014 World Cup], and once by England in the last minutes of the game [at Euro 2024]. So therefore we are close.

"Some players may be playing in their last tournament, so for them it's the last opportunity - take it. We have a good team. I hope they can grab it with both hands this time."

The Netherlands headline Group F with Japan, Sweden and Tunisia, with their first match coming against the Japanese on June 14 in Dallas. 

​ DAZN/FIFA

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