Internationals

International Friendly Preview: Netherlands – Paraguay

Netherlands lock horns with Paraguay in what could be an interesting battle between two teams that have qualified for the 2010 World Cup…

Nov 17, 2009 2:21:47 PM

Eljero Elia and Gianluca Zambrotta, Italy - Netherlands (foto PROSHOTS)

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Eljero Elia and Gianluca Zambrotta, Italy - Netherlands (foto PROSHOTS)

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Kick-Off: Wednesday, November 18, 2009, 20:45,
Abe Lenstre Stadion, Heerenveen, Netherlands

The Perfect Score

The Oranje qualified for the 2010 World Cup without too much trouble. They started their campaign with a hard fought 2-1 away win against Macedonia, but everything went smoothly from there on. Iceland, Scotland and Norway failed to pose a serious threat for head coach Bert van Marwijk and his men and they comfortably finished at the top of the table in Group 9 with 24 points from eight games.

Additionally, they even managed to record some satisfying results in international friendlies. Japan were beaten 3-0, while Tunisia, England and Australia all had to settle for a draw against the Dutch, who are not exactly known for their high motivation in friendly games. Last Saturday, reigning world champions Italy were unable to beat the Dutch and had to settle for a scoreless draw.

Despite the good string of results, Van Marwijk will be a bit worried with the development of some of his players at club level. Players such as Khalid Boulahrouz, Rafael van der Vaart, Ryan Babel and Klaas-Jan Huntelaar are all struggling to get regular first team action and their lack of match rhythm could cost them a spot in the Holland squad if their situation doesn’t improve.

Guaranies On Their Way To South Africa

Like their opponents, Paraguay made it to South Africa quite comfortably as well. They collected 11 points from their initial five games to go top of the table in the South-American qualifying zone and head coach Gerardo Martino kept his side on the right track throughout the remainder of the qualifying campaign to eventually finish third in the standings.

However, the Guaranies haven’t been able to continue their fine form in their preparations for the 2010 World Cup. Both Chile and Qatar proved to be too strong for Paraguay earlier this month and Martino will be far from happy with that. Especially, their performance against Qatar gave the Paraguay chief plenty of reasons to worry.

The South Americans have plenty of options to choose from up front and they could be up for a surprise in the summer of 2010. Highly rated attacker Roque Santa Cruz has returned to full match fitness after a lengthy spell on the sidelines due to injury, while Benfica hitman Oscar Cardozo has been in stunning form this season. Additionally, Borussia Dortmund’s Nelson Valdez is a class-act in Paraguay’s attack, too.

FORM GUIDE

Netherlands

November 14 v Italy (A) - DREW 0-0 (Friendly)

October 10 v Australia (A) – DREW 0-0 (Friendly)

September 9 v Scotland (A) – WON 1-0 (WCQ)

September 5 v Japan (H) – WON 3-0 (Friendly)

August 12 v England (H) – DREW 2-2 (Friendly)

Paraguay

November 13 v Qatar (N) – LOST 2-0 (Friendly)

November 4 v Chile (A) – LOST 2-1 (Friendly)

October 14 v Colombia (H) – LOST 2-0 (WCQ)

October 10 v Venezuela (A) – WON 2-1 (WCQ)

September 9 v Argentina (H) – WON 1-0 (WCQ)

TEAM NEWS

Netherlands

Demy de Zeeuw, David Mendes da Silva and Arjen Robben all withdrew from the Dutch squad due to injury, while Andre Ooijer didn’t get a call-up because of his injury worries.

Furthermore, Wesley Sneijder and Robin van Persie picked up injuries during the weekend and are unavailable, too.

Possible Starting XI 4-2-3-1: Stekelenburg; Van der Wiel, Heitinga, Mathijsen, Van Bronckhorst; Van Bommel, De Jong; Kuyt, Van der Vaart, Elia; Huntelaar

Paraguay

Martino doesn’t have too many injury worries ahead of Wednesday’s international friendly. However, Atalanta midfielder Edgar Barreto was left out of the squad due to injury.

Possible Starting XI 4-3-3: Bobadilla; J. Caceres, Bonet, Caniza, Da Silva; Torres, V. Caceres, Ledesma; Santa Cruz, Benitez, Lopez.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Eljero Elia (Netherlands)

Elia has been in scintillating form for Hamburger SV this term and the former Twente star will be eager to reproduce his fine club performances at international level. The winger will probably get the nod ahead of Ryan Babel on the left wing and he will do his utmost to find the net.

Roque Santa Cruz (Paraguay)

The talismanic attacker is finding regular first team football hard to come by at Manchester City, but Santa Cruz is still the undisputed star player of Paraguay. The former Bayern Munich striker will pose a serious threat to the Dutch defence.

PREDICTION

It’s a known fact that the Dutch are not too keen on playing their international friendlies and motivation will be quite low for Wednesday’s game. Especially after Saturday’s match against Italy, the home side will focus more on not getting injured than on beating the Paraguayans. The guests on the other hand will be gunning for revenge after their disappointing performance against Qatar last Friday. Therefore, I see a draw as the most likely result.

Netherlands 1-1 Paraguay

Stefan Coerts, Goal.com

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