[Final score: Netherlands 2 – 1 Slovakia (Robben 17′, Sneijder 84′; Vittek 93′)
The Dutch advance to the quarterfinals for the first time since 1998. They will face the winner of this afternoon’s Brazil-Chile match.]
The 2nd half of the Round of 16 begins this morning with the Netherlands taking on surprising Slovakia. The Netherlands are heavily favored to win this matchup. They came into the tournament as a dark horse to go all the way, and they didn’t disappoint (unlike some other European sides) in winning all three of their games in Group E.
Slovakia, on the other hand, shocked the world by eliminating Italy and advancing in 2nd place out of Group F. They’ll be attempting to pull off another upset in Durban today.
Starting lineups, players to watch, live entries and your comments, all after the jump!
Here are the starting lineups:
Holland (4-2-3-1) 1-Maarten Stekelenburg; 2-Gregory van der Wiel, 3-John Heitinga, 4-Joris Mathijsen, 5-Giovanni van Bronckhorst; 6-Mark van Bommel, 8-Nigel de Jong; 7-Dirk Kuyt, 10-Wesley Sneijder, 11-Arjen Robben; 9-Robin van Persie.
Slovakia (4-2-3-1) 1-Jan Mucha; 2-Peter Pekarik, 3-Martin Skrtel, 16-Jan Durica, 5-Radoslav Zabavnik; 19-Juraj Kucka, 17-Marek Hamsik; 7-Vladimir Weiss, 15-Miroslav Stoch, 18-Erik Jendrisek; 11-Robert Vittek.
Referee Alberto Undiano (Spain).
Players to watch:
For Holland, it’s the trio of attacking stars: forwards Robin van Persie (#9) and Arjen Robben (#11), supported by attacking midfielder Wesley Sneijder (#10), who all play for top clubs (Arsenal, Bayern Munich, and Inter Milan, respectively). Look also for Sneijder to team with workhorses van Bommel (#6, also Bayern Munich), De Jong (#8, Man City), and Dirk Kuyt (#7, Liverpool)–the Dutch are up there with the Brazilians and the Spanish in their abilities to knock the ball around and maintain possession in midfield.
The Netherlands also have depth, with a number of promising youngsters available on the bench. If the attack is flagging, look for Eljero Elia (#17, Hamburg), Ibrahim Affelay (#20, PSV Eindhoven), and/or Klaas Jan Huntelaar (#21, AC Milan) to come in and try to provide a spark..
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13 comments
Ferchizzle
June 28, 2010 at 10:19 AM
Screw soccer, talk about why Dutch women are towering giants!
Eric VanNood
June 28, 2010 at 10:19 AM
Goooooooaaaaaaal!!!
Eric VanNood
June 28, 2010 at 10:20 AM
Beautiful lefty just by the post!!!!
Suman
June 28, 2010 at 10:22 AM
Yes it was! Robben is the man! Think the Dutch will score some more? Need to stay disciplined on defense..but a great start!
Eric VanNood
June 28, 2010 at 10:25 AM
Impressive lead photo!!! Is this game on replay? 🙂
Tommy
June 28, 2010 at 10:48 AM
Nice left foot. Defenders need to force him right. (Duh.)
Suman
June 28, 2010 at 10:50 AM
Exactly Tommy..fantastic shot by Robben, but as Gullit just said, “Robben does that all the time.” Did the Slovaks not watch Bayern Munich this spring?
amy
June 28, 2010 at 10:59 AM
lead photo called that one for sure! great goal robben! but notice that slovakia is getting beat on the wings much too often! their d is compact inside, and they will end up paying for that with the dutch for sure!
Suman
June 28, 2010 at 11:07 AM
Add’l notes on the goal after seeing the replay: fantastic ball by Sneijder to spring Robben–Sneijder strikes the ball as well as anyone; Robben goes 1 v 2 and threads the needle–even though he had van Persie overlapping after he cut in..another example of how it pays for a great striker to be selfish? (cf David Villa v Chile)
Suman
June 28, 2010 at 11:11 AM
Good point Amy, the Dutch do love to attack up the wings! I wonder if we’ll soon see Elia or Affelay running on one of those wings..maybe for to replace van Persie or Robben? van Persie seems a little off to me–he’s missed a couple chances that a striker of his caliber should finish. Or Robben, to rest him, make sure he doesn’t reinjure himself..and to make sure he doesn’t get a 2nd yellow!
Ligocki
June 28, 2010 at 11:19 AM
Dear Slovakian keeper – To fortify your defensive arsenal, might I direct you to one Jon Novy for instructions/training on the “Flying Burrito” – no need to thank me!!
amy
June 28, 2010 at 11:56 AM
thanks suman…..and i too agree that van persie was off today….robben was the man! and your call on ellia was right on. the dutch played well and my only hope is that they play stellar if facing brazil in the quarters!
Tommy
June 28, 2010 at 1:25 PM
Taking the “selfish” a bit far, S-man. I want a fwd who lusts for goals; greed is often creative. Robben’s goal was a tad greedy, but still reasonable. He was perfectly balanced (Villa wasn’t) and had an absolute plan to use those 2 giant Slovaks to shield his shot against the keeper’s momentum back to the near post. It’s a difference between intelligent, calculated greed and out-of-control spinning greed.
That said, give me Villa or a 75% Villa up front for the US any day. Please.
Comments are closed.