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Played
June 2, 2012 7:00 PM BST
Amsterdam ArenA — Amsterdam
Referee:‬ R. Schörgenhofer‎
Attendance:‬ 50000‎
 
11′ Robin van Persie
 
15′ Wesley Sneijder
 
29′ (PG) Robin van Persie
 
37′ Ibrahim Afellay
 
51′ Ibrahim Afellay
 
78′ Ron Vlaar
 

Netherlands - Northern Ireland Preview: Oranje aiming to end Euro 2012 preparations on a high

The 2010 World Cup finalists beat Slovakia in midweek after two previous defeats, and will be looking to further boost their confidence on Saturday

By Stefan Coerts

More On :  Netherlands, Northern Ireland, Netherlands vs Northern Ireland
Netherlands - Slovakia
PROSHOTS
  PROBABLE LINEUPS

NETHERLANDS

Stekelenburg
Van der Wiel, Heitinga, Vlaar, Willems
Van Bommel, De Jong
Robben, Van der Vaart, Afellay
Van Persie
NORTHERN IRELAND

Carroll
Hodson, Duff, McArdle, McGivern
McCann, C. Evans, Clingan, McCourt
Healy, McGinn

Netherlands coach Bert van Marwijk will be without the services of Joris Mathijsen due to a hamstring injury, while both Wilfred Bouma and Wesley Sneijder are doubtful after picking up knocks in the win over Slovakia.

Therefore, Ron Vlaar and Rafael van der Vaart could feature from the start, as Van Marwijk is expected to field his strongest XI in Oranje's last warm-up game.

The guests will be without Steve Davis, Jonny Evans,Chris Brunt, Kyle Lafferty and Dean Shiels due to injury in Saturday's encounter.

Additionally, Aaron Hughes has family commitments, while Gareth McAuley has wedding commitments.

  DID YOU KNOW?
  • Netherlands and Northern Ireland have met five times to date. Holland have won twice, recorded two draws, and been beaten once.
  • The Dutch beat Slovakia 2-0 in their last friendly game courtesy of an own goal and a Rafael van der Vaart strike.
  • Left-back Jetro Willems (pictured) will be the youngest player at Euro 2012. The 18-year-old defender made his official Holland debut in the friendly loss versus Bulgaria

  • Northern Ireland last beat the Dutch on March 17, 1965, when they recorded a 2-1 win at Windsor Park.
  • Rangers striker David Healy is his country's all-time top-scorer with 35 goals in 92 appearances.
  • Manager Michael O'Neill has called up four players for the first time: James McPake, Rory Donnelly, Daniel Lafferty and William Grigg could all make their debut on Saturday.

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Field Report
Reader's Predictions
Top 3 Predictions
  • Netherlands 3-0 Northern Ireland
    18.77 %
  • Netherlands 3-1 Northern Ireland
    12.3 %
  • Netherlands 2-0 Northern Ireland
    12.3 %
Head to Head
International Friendlies ‎(FR)‎ 2 Jun 2012 Netherlands 6 - Northern Ireland 0
  • 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
Northern Ireland
26 Mar 2013Northern Ireland 0 - Israel 2WCQE
6 Feb 2013Malta 0 - Northern Ireland 0FR
14 Nov 2012Northern Ireland 1 - Azerbaijan 1WCQE
16 Oct 2012Portugal 1 - Northern Ireland 1WCQE
11 Sep 2012Northern Ireland 1 - Luxembourg 1WCQE
Odds
Returns: Netherlands £11.25 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: Northern Ireland £710.00 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
13Ron VlaarDefender
15Jetro WillemsDefender
11Arjen RobbenMidfielder
-Ibrahim Afellay
-Mark van Bommel
-Nigel De Jong
10Wesley SneijderMidfielder
16Robin van PersieStriker
23Rafael van der VaartMidfielder
-Klaas-Jan Huntelaar
7Dirk KuytStriker
-Stijn Schaars
-Luciano Narsingh
-Lee Camp
-James McPake
-Lee HodsonDefender
-Michael Duff
14Shane FergusonMidfielder
-Daniel LaffertyDefender
8Grant McCannMidfielder
4Sammy ClinganMidfielder
14Oliver NorwoodMidfielder
-William GriggStriker
-Andrew Little
25Roy CarrollGoalkeeper
23Ryan McGivernDefender
42Josh CarsonMidfielder
7Niall McGinnMidfielder
-Rory McArdle
9David HealyStriker
Players to Watch
Ibrahim Afellay
Ibrahim Afellay
Position:
Squad Number: 0
Games Goals YC RC
0 0 0 0
The Barcelona winger impressed against Slovakia in midweek in his first international appearance since his comeback from injury, and Afellay will be keen to put in another strong display against Northern Ireland. The versatile attacker adds much needed width and creativity to Holland, and his direct opponent on Saturday could be in for a difficult evening.
Roy Carroll
Roy Carroll
Position: Goalkeeper
Squad Number: 25
Games Goals YC RC
0 0 0 0
The former Manchester United goalkeeper is one of the few relatively big names in the Northern Ireland squad, and the 34-year-old probably awaits a busy evening in Amsterdam. The Dutch attackers have plenty of quality, and will be looking to test Carroll on every possible occasion as they're aiming to end their Euro 2012 preparations on a high.
Prediction
After uninspiring performances against Bayern Munich and Bulgaria, Netherlands returned to winning ways against Slovakia on Wednesday, and they'll be determined to further boost confidence with a win over Northern Ireland at the Amsterdam ArenA. Oranje have a superior squad to their opponents and the individual quality of players such as Afellay, Robben and Van Persie should prove to be too much for the guests.
Editor's Prediction
Netherlands 3
Northern Ireland 0
Results
ALL MATCHES >>
 
Top Scorers
Player   Goals Penalties
Ashraf Nu'man Alfawaghra Ashraf Nu'man Alfawaghra
Midfielder
Al Faisaly Amman 		4 1
Andreas Cornelius Andreas Cornelius
Striker
FC Copenhagen 		4 1
Mikael Forssell Mikael Forssell
Striker
HJK Helsinki 		3 1
Fred Fred
Striker
Fluminense 		3 0
Felipe Caicedo Felipe Caicedo
Striker
Lokomotiv 		3 0

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