GDANSK, Poland — As rain fell on this port city Wednesday evening, the players of Poland’s national team bounced around with verve and pep. The fans chanted, “Polska!” over and over. The coaches barked and bayed.

Their opponents from the Netherlands looked far more subdued. They were professional, to be sure, but there was less life, less anticipation. An hour before a relatively meaningless exhibition match, only two weeks after the long slog of the club season had ended, more than a few of the players looked, quite simply, as if they would have preferred to be anywhere but here.

It was understandable. Two years ago, the Dutch were one of the dominant stories of the World Cup in Brazil, providing a series of memorable moments: striker Robin van Persie opening with a majestic, looping, inch-perfect diving header; Louis van Gaal, then the coach, substituting his goalkeeper minutes before a shootout and looking like a genius when the keeper won it; the Netherlands going on to the semifinals, and then carving up Brazil in the third-place game.

The Oranje looked smart and savvy and effective. Yet from that incredible height came a brutal collapse last fall during qualifying for the European Championship. And now, a lost summer looms as teams like Poland — as well as minnows such as Wales, Albania, Northern Ireland and Iceland — prepare to take part in an expanded European Championship while the Dutch, somehow, have to stay home.