Oranje Demand More as Czechs Look to Quarter Finals

Far from being the epitome of Total Football and a performance that drew sharp criticism from some of Holland's biggest soccer names, the draw against Germany on June 15 taught the Oranje one thing: more quality is required if this current Dutch team is to add to the legacy of their country's soccer heritage.

One player who will feel the barbs from the likes of Johann Cruyff and Louis van Gaal more than most will be the man who carried the Dutch attack and the man who saved their first game with his late equalizer: Ruud van Nistlerooy. The Manchester United forward cut a frustrated and lonely figure as the spearhead of a lacklustre Dutch team who rarely showed any of the magic that the team has conjured in previous incarnations.

Dutch look to improve

"We need to build on our performance against Germany which was not very good," said Van Nistlerooy ahead of the all-important clash with fellow fancied contenders the Czech Republic in Aviero on Saturday. "The Czechs are well organised and will not leave much space to be creative."

Defender Jaap Stam, who was among the Dutch rearguard against Germany, admitted that his was relishing his potential contest with giant striker Jan Koller, saying: "He is always a tough opponent, controlling and holding the ball well."

The two "man mountains" will be key in the fortunes of their teams when they come head-to-head. The Czech attacker will look to exploit the Milan defender's penchant for losing concentration while Stam will know that the snuffing out the danger posed by the Dortmund striker will rid the Czech's of their target man.

Advocaat changes tack and defends players

Coach Dick Advocaat, another of the Dutch voice who offered far from complementary words for his players even though they came from behind against Germany, changed his tune when faced with questions from the floor at the team's recent press conference. "I do not understand why we were judged to have played badly," he said. "It was Germany's best performance in two years, so I think it was a good result.

"We were nervous against the Germans, but I hope that nervousness will lessen as the tournament progresses."

"I cannot say whether I'll select the side that played well in the second half against Germany because I have to take the whole match into account," the Dutch coach told the Euro 2004 official web site.

"The team didn't get better because of the substitutions but because they showed more guts. They also showed more aggression when they were 1-0 down."

He added: "We may not have the best team in the championship, but we always enter a tournament with intentions of winning it. We've only played one game, one draw, so everything is still open for us."

Czechs wary of Van Nistlerooy

The Czechs have highlighted the threat of Van Nistlerooy as the main danger and believe that if the striker is once more isolated in Saturday's game then they stand a good chance of winning the match. "He's lethal inside the area as he showed with that strike against Germany," said Liverpool midfielder Vladimir Smicer who has regularly faced the Manchester United icon in the English Premiership.

"It was barely a half chance - just the kind of goal he specializes in."

Baros to inflict more damage, says Smicer

However, Smicer warned the Dutch not to underestimate the talents of his Anfield team-mate Milan Baros. "He is our best striker at the moment. Milan has scored four goals in his last three internationals so he is in very good form."

The Czechs lead the group with three points after coming from behind to beat Latvia 2-1 and can reach the quarter-finals with victory over the Dutch. That would leave Germany and Holland scrapping for the last qualifying spot in the group.

Netherlands (probable): Van der Sar, Heitinga, Bouma, Stam, Van Bronckhorst, Sneijder, Davids, Cocu, Van der Meyde, Van der Vaart, Ruud van Nistelrooy.

Czech Republic (probable): Grygera, Galasek, Bolf, Jankulovski, Poborsky, Koller, Rosicky, Nedved, Baros, Ujfalusi, Blazek, Smicer, Heinz, Jiranek, Mares, Lokvenc, Vachousek.