"The Netherlands are" vs "The Netherlands is" [duplicate]

Solution 1:

It should be considered as a singular object.

Just because it has an s at the end, it is still a single object:

The Netherlands is famous for cheese and windmills. The Netherlands is a country.

As far as I am aware, in contemporary English, all countries follow the same pattern (The United States is famous for apple pie, etc.)

Solution 2:

Speaking strictly about the country I would tend to treat it as singular.

The Netherlands has the lowest debt to GDP ratio in the European Union.

But if speaking about their football team I would say:

The Netherlands are playing Argentina. But then I would also say England are playing Italy.

It is the same for all countries whose names are stated as plurals.