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After being outclassed by the Czechs in qualifying
and slumping in the first playoff leg, a 6-0 thumping
of Scotland made everything all right, didn't it?
Not really. While the rout was a step in the right
direction, serious problems need to be addressed
before the Dutch can be considered among the favourites.
It has become a cliché that the Netherlands'
squad is much too good to be messing around with
a playoff. And like most clichés, it is completely
wrong. Granted, they have plenty of firepower in
van Nistelrooy, Makaay, Kluivert and Hasselbaink,
but they can't all play at once.
Defensively, they are a mess, with Jaap Stam the
only player proven at international level. Frank
De Boer, Reiziger and Van Bronckhorst are simply
not good enough, while in midfield Overmars, Davids
and Seedorf are far from the form that made them
such stars.
As always for the men in Orange, hope lies in youth,
in particular Wesley Sneijder, Arjen Robben and
the wonderful Rafael van der Vaart. Dick Advocaat
needs to remember how abject the old guard were
in the first leg against Scotland and trust in his
youngsters to sparkle.
Prediction: Will have their work cut out
making the knockout rounds.
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