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Played
May 30, 2012 7:30 PM BST
Stadion Feijenoord — Rotterdam
Referee:‬ V. Bezborodov‎
Attendance:‬ 51000‎
 
8′ (OG) Kornel Salata
 
75′ Rafael van der Vaart
 

Netherlands - Slovakia Preview: Oranje looking to bounce back from Bulgaria loss

The 2010 World Cup finalists were beaten by Bayern Munich and Bulgaria last week and will be keen to get back on track on Wednesday as they prepare for Euro 2012's 'group of death'

By Stefan Coerts

More On :  Netherlands, Slovakia, Netherlands vs Slovakia
Arjen Robben - Netherlands-Slovakia - World Cup 2010 (Getty Images)
  PROBABLE LINEUPS

NETHERLANDS

Stekelenburg
Van der Wiel, Heitinga, Bouma, Schaars
Van Bommel, De Jong
Robben, Sneijder, Afellay
Van Persie
SLOVAKIA

Pernis
Pekarik, Michalik, Hubocan, Cech
Kucka, Svento
Sestak, Hamsik, Holosko
Jendrisek

Maarten Stekelenburg missed the match against Bulgaria due to a shoulder injury, but is expected to start on Wednesday.

However, Joris Mathijsen is unavailable due to a hamstring problem, and will be replaced by either Wilfred Bouma or Ron Vlaar.

Sporting Lisbon midfielder Stijn Schaars will start the game at left-back, meaning promising youngster Jetro Willems drops to the bench.

Slovakia will be without experienced players such as Martin Skrtel, Jan Durica and Robert Vittek.

Nevertheless, star player Marek Hamsik is ready to feature after a long season with Napoli to end the campaign on a high.

  DID YOU KNOW?
  • Netherlands and Slovakia have met only once up till date. Oranje proved to be too strong for the Slovakians in the round of 16 at the 2010 World Cup: 2-1.
  • The Dutch were beaten 2-1 by Bulgaria in their last friendly game earlier this month.
  • Wesley Sneijder (pictured) will equal Ruud Krol with 83 international appearances if he features on Wednesday, and enter Netherlands' top 10 of most-capped players.

  • Slovakia have never featured at the European Championships since the dissolution of Czechoslovakia in 1993.
  • Besiktas attacker Filip Holosko is the most-capped Slovakia player in the squad for the match at De Kuip with 55 international appearances.
  • Winger Miroslav Stoch plied his trade in the Dutch Eredivisie during the 2009-10 campaign, when he scored 10 goals in 32 league games for Twente.

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Field Report
Reader's Predictions
Top 3 Predictions
  • Netherlands 2-0 Slovakia
    16.6 %
  • Netherlands 3-1 Slovakia
    14.71 %
  • Netherlands 3-0 Slovakia
    12.7 %
Head to Head
International Friendlies ‎(FR)‎ 30 May 2012 Netherlands 2 - Slovakia 0
  • Player Ratings
  • Match Report
  • Play by Play
  • Preview
World Cup 2010 ‎(WC)‎ 28 Jun 2010 Netherlands 2 - Slovakia 1
  • Player Ratings
  • Match Report
  • Play by Play
  • Preview
Last Five Matches
Netherlands
26 Mar 2013Netherlands 4 - Romania 0WCQE
22 Mar 2013Netherlands 3 - Estonia 0WCQE
6 Feb 2013Netherlands 1 - Italy 1FR
14 Nov 2012Netherlands 0 - Germany 0FR
16 Oct 2012Romania 1 - Netherlands 4WCQE
Slovakia
26 Mar 2013Slovakia 0 - Sweden 0FR
22 Mar 2013Slovakia 1 - Lithuania 1WCQE
6 Feb 2013Belgium 2 - Slovakia 1FR
14 Nov 2012Czech Republic 3 - Slovakia 0FR
16 Oct 2012Slovakia 0 - Greece 1WCQE
Odds
Returns: Netherlands £12.50 PaddyPower Sign up to Paddy Power for £250 in free bets
Returns: Draw £560.00 WilliamHill Sign up with William Hill for a free bet up to £25
Returns: Slovakia £810.00 WilliamHill Sign up with William Hill for a free bet up to £25
Team News
Available Squads
1Maarten StekelenburgGoalkeeper
-Gregory van der Wiel
3John HeitingaDefender
-Wilfred Bouma
11Arjen RobbenMidfielder
-Ibrahim Afellay
-Mark van Bommel
-Nigel De Jong
-Stijn Schaars
10Wesley SneijderMidfielder
16Robin van PersieStriker
13Ron VlaarDefender
23Rafael van der VaartMidfielder
-Klaas-Jan Huntelaar
7Dirk KuytStriker
-Luciano Narsingh
-Jan Mucha
16Kornel SalataMidfielder
5Marek CechDefender
2Peter PekarikDefender
15Tomás HubocanMidfielder
-Dusan SventoMidfielder
-Karim GuédéMidfielder
-Michal Breznaník
17Marek HamsikStriker
9Miroslav StochMidfielder
-Marek BakosStriker
11Juraj KuckaGoalkeeper
-Tomáš Kóňa
-Roman Prochazka
-L. GuldanDefender
13Filip HološkoStriker
-Kamil Kopunek
Players to Watch
Arjen Robben
Arjen Robben
Position: Midfielder
Squad Number: 11
Games Goals YC RC
1 0 0 0
The Bayern Munich star has had some rather hectic days behind him following the lost Champions League final against Chelsea, and the friendly match with Oranje versus his own club, where he got booed by the Bayern fans. Robben is likely to feature from the start against Slovakia, and what better way to get his recent troubles off his mind than by putting in a stellar performance on Wednesday?
Marek Hamsik
Marek Hamsik
Position: Striker
Squad Number: 17
Games Goals YC RC
2 0 1 0
Hamsik is one of Europe's most sought after players, and he is the undisputed star of the Slovakians. The attacking midfielder enjoyed a fine season at club level, and will be determined to replicate his Napoli-form for his country as well. Hamsik could trouble the Dutch with his intelligent runs off the ball, and a goal in Rotterdam would be the icing on the cake for the midfielder.
Prediction
Netherlands have shown over the years that they struggle to motivate themselves in friendly games, and this again showed against Bulgaria at the weekend. Nevertheless, with the start of Euro 2012 nearing rapidly, they will be fired up to prove that they have the potential to go far at this summer's tournament. Slovakia caused Oranje a fair bit of trouble at the World Cup two years ago, but it seems unlikely that they are able to beat the hosts in De Kuip.
Editor's Prediction
Netherlands 3
Slovakia 1
Results
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Top Scorers
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Ashraf Nu'man Alfawaghra Ashraf Nu'man Alfawaghra
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Al Faisaly Amman 		4 1
Andreas Cornelius Andreas Cornelius
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FC Copenhagen 		4 1
Mikael Forssell Mikael Forssell
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HJK Helsinki 		3 1
Fred Fred
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Fluminense 		3 0
Felipe Caicedo Felipe Caicedo
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Lokomotiv 		3 0

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