Netherlands Fan: Final Thoughts on Holland Friendlies Leading Up to Euro 2012 - 7M sport

Netherlands Fan: Final Thoughts on Holland Friendlies Leading Up to Euro 2012



I have a say

Posted Monday, June 04, 2012 by YAHOO Sport

It certainly was an interesting two weeks for the Holland National Team. Since May 22, the Dutch suffered a defeat to a club team, lost to a national team that failed to qualify for the upcoming European Championship, saw several lineup mainstays pick up injuries, and then concluded a run of friendlies with a dominating performance against a reserve team. All that's left now between Holland and the start of what will either be a glorious or painful Euro 2012 run is what will likely be a long week for Dutch football fans.

June 9 can't come soon enough.

Final thoughts on Holland friendlies leading up to Euro 2012: The big story 

The Dutch will be limping into Euro 2012 after picking up a few injuries during the team's May fixtures. First, some good news. Wesley Sneijder, who picked up a knock in the early stages of the second half during Holland's 2-0 victory over Slovakia, returned to action for the team's final warmup. He also scored Holland's second goal of that contest, a picture perfect curling free kick that sailed into the corner of the net.

Wilfred Bouma appeared to suffer a serious head injury during the Holland vs. Slovakia contest. He was seen warming up before the team's game against Northern Ireland, however, but he never saw any playing time in that match. Defender Joris Mathijsen remains questionable after suffering a hamstring injury back on May 26. Coach Bert van Marwijk believes Mathijsen should be ready to go by next weekend, but there are no guarantees as of the writing of this sentence.

Final thoughts on Holland friendlies leading up to Euro 2012: Cause for concern?

I often state that fans cannot get overly concerned or overly excited about any friendly. With that said, I can't help but be at least a little worried about Holland's attack after what I saw during the end of May. The Netherlands, almost always fluid while putting together attacking sequences that result in scoring opportunities, struggled to breakthrough the back lines of both Bulgaria and Slovakia. One can't blame a lack of trying or caring for this, as players such as Arjen Robben and even Robin van Persie (more on RvP later) were visibly frustrated with Holland's inability to do anything worthwhile while in or around the penalty area during the team's first two international friendlies of May. The Dutch did manage to run over a Northern Ireland side mostly made up of reserves. Hopefully that will serve as a confidence boost for Holland, because they will have to be better than what we saw in the final week of May come June 9.

Final thoughts on Holland friendlies leading up to Euro 2012: The lineup

I'm very interested to see the lineup Bert van Marwijk chooses next Saturday when Holland face Denmark, and not just because of any lingering injury woes that will be affecting his squad at that time. For my money, the Dutch looked, for lack of a better term, the most "Dutch-like" when having both the previously mentioned Van Persie and Rafael Van der Vaart out on the field at the same time. Van Persie was Holland's man of the match in the team's 6-0 rout of Northern Ireland despite his not even playing a full hour before being subbed off, and Van der Vaart was his consistent self throughout the team's international friendlies.

Two familiar questions linger regarding the two men. Will Van Persie be allowed to work through the middle as he prefers rather than down the wing? Can Van der Vaart remain fit enough to average more than an hour per match this summer? These could prove to be pivotal questions for the Dutch as they attempt to survive the "group of death."



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