Netherlands aim to book their place in the next round of the World Cup as they face Australia on Wednesday night.
- By Michael Bell
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Hopes back home in Netherlands of a successful World Cup have ignited after the 5-1 hammering of Spain on Friday night, but the players in the Dutch camp have been quick to urge focus. The win over Spain means nothing if Netherlands don’t beat Australia.
Coach Louis van Gaal has been tinkering with his formation in training as the Dutch were seen playing 4-3-3 with Jeremain Lens coming into the side for Ron Vlaar, who suffered a slight injury against Spain.
However Van Gaal was surprisingly tight lipped in his press conference regarding his formation and this has led AD to believe that he will not change from the 5-3-2 that was so successful against Spain. Maybe Van Gaal is playing smoke and mirrors with the opposition.
Likely Netherlands line up: 5-3-2: Cillessen, Janmaat, Blind, Vlaar, Martins Indi, De Vrij, De Jong, De Guzman, Sneijder, Robben, Van Persie
Australia showed guts and determination against Chile in their opening fixture, but ended up on the wrong side of a 3-1 defeat. However they were in the game for a long period of time, and they should have equalised on several occasions before Chile found the killer blow.
Coach Ange Postecoglou has been dealt two injury blows as right back Ivan Franjic, and midfielder Mark Milligan have been ruled out through injury. That means Ryan McGowan and James Holland will come into the side that lines up in a 4-2-3-1 formation.
Fans of the Eredivisie will recognise two of the Aussie players as Utrecht’s Tommy Oar, and Heracles’s Jason Davidson will start the match.
Likely Australia line up: Ryan, McGowan, Davidson, Wilkinson, Spiranovic, Jedinak, Holland, Leckie, Bresciano, Oar, Cahill
Past Meetings:
Australia are somewhat of a bogey team for the Dutch as in three previous internationals, Netherlands have failed to win any of them, losing one and drawing two. The last meeting came back in 2009 when the two nations played out a 0-0 draw.
Verdict:
Netherlands will be under a lot of pressure to see of the Australian’s comfortably, and with Arjen Robben and Robin van Persie in such sparkling form, they should do so. However the side needs to guard against over-confidence, as any slip up could be punished by the likes of Tim Cahill or Mark Bresciano.
There is huge expectations on this Dutch side now, and lets hope they don’t fall flat on their face against the Socceroos.
Hup Holland Hup!
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Hopefully a win here and a Chile win or draw against Spain then play the 5-3-2 against Chile and go for the draw and take 1st place. I’d like to see a clean sheet in the next two games. Easier said than done. one at a time.