International Friendlies
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Played
May 26, 2012 7:00 PM BST
Amsterdam ArenA — Amsterdam
Referee:‬ Fernando Teixeira‎
Attendance:‬ 51000‎
 
45′ Robin van Persie
Ivelin Popov 50′ (PG)
 
Iliyan Mitsanski 90+3′

Netherlands - Bulgaria Preview: Oranje continue Euro 2012 preparation after defeat to Bayern

Oranje were beaten in the friendly match against Bayern Munich on Tuesday, and will be looking to improve their form in Saturday's encounter at the Amsterdam ArenA

By Stefan Coerts

More On :  Bulgaria, Netherlands, Netherlands vs Bulgaria
Bayern Munich - Netherlands, Sneijder, Huntelaar and Kuyt
Bongarts
  PROBABLE LINEUPS

NETHERLANDS

Vorm
Van der Wiel, Heitinga, Mathijsen, Willems
Van Bommel, De Jong
Robben, Sneijder, Kuyt
Van Persie
BULGARIA

Kolev
Bodurov, Iliev, Ivanov, Zanev
Gadzhev, Zlatinski
Manolev, Popov, Gargorov
Bojinov

Netherlands will likely be without first-choice goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg due to injury, while Ibrahim Afellay still has club obligations as Barcelona take on Athletic Bilbao in the Copa del Rey final on Friday.

However, Stijn Schaars has joined the squad after missing out on Tuesday's friendly against Bayern due to the Portuguese Cup final at the weekend.

Bulgaria coach Luboslav Penev will be without injured shot-stopper Nikolay Mihaylov.

Additionally, Iliya Milanov was forced to withdraw due to fitness problems and was replaced in the squad by defender Aleksandar Aleksandrov.

  DID YOU KNOW?
  • Netherlands and Bulgaria first met on May 13, 1959 in Sofia, when the hosts beat Oranje 3-2.
  • The Dutch recorded a 3-2 win over England in their last friendly game in February.
  • Rafael van der Vaart (pictured) is only seven games away from becoming the fifth player in history to make 100 appearances for Netherlands.

  • Klaas-Jan Huntelaar has scored the most international goals, 31, from the current Oranje squad.
  • Bulgaria have won four out of their nine games against Netherlands, drawing twice and losing the other three meetings.
  • Wing-back Stanislav Manolev is the only player in the Bulgaria squad who plies his trade in the Dutch top flight, at PSV.
  • The Bulgarians last qualified for a major tournament in 2004, when they lost all their matches in the group stage of the European Championship in Portugal.

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Field Report
Reader's Predictions
Top 3 Predictions
  • Netherlands 3-0 Bulgaria
    19.27 %
  • Netherlands 2-0 Bulgaria
    11.22 %
  • Netherlands 3-1 Bulgaria
    11.02 %
Head to Head
International Friendlies ‎(FR)‎ May 26, 2012 Netherlands 1 - Bulgaria 2
  • Player Ratings
  • Match Report
  • Play by Play
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Euro 2012 ‎(EC)‎ Sep 8, 2007 Netherlands 2 - Bulgaria 0
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Euro 2012 ‎(EC)‎ Oct 7, 2006 Bulgaria 1 - Netherlands 1
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Last Five Matches
Netherlands
Mar 26, 2013Netherlands 4 - Romania 0WCQ
Mar 22, 2013Netherlands 3 - Estonia 0WCQ
Feb 6, 2013Netherlands 1 - Italy 1FR
Nov 14, 2012Netherlands 0 - Germany 0FR
Oct 16, 2012Romania 1 - Netherlands 4WCQ
Bulgaria
Mar 26, 2013Denmark 1 - Bulgaria 1WCQ
Mar 22, 2013Bulgaria 6 - Malta 0WCQ
Nov 14, 2012Bulgaria 0 - Ukraine 1FR
Oct 16, 2012Czech Rep. 0 - Bulgaria 0WCQ
Oct 12, 2012Bulgaria 1 - Denmark 1WCQ
Odds
Returns: Netherlands £42.00 WilliamHill Sign up with William Hill for a free bet up to £25
Returns: Draw £70.00 PaddyPower Sign up to Paddy Power for £250 in free bets
Returns: Bulgaria £150.00 PaddyPower Sign up to Paddy Power for £250 in free bets
Team News
Available Squads
22Tim KrulGoalkeeper
-Gregory van der Wiel
3John HeitingaDefender
4Joris MathijsenDefender
15Jetro WillemsDefender
-Mark van Bommel
-Nigel De Jong
23Rafael van der VaartMidfielder
10Wesley SneijderMidfielder
-Klaas-Jan Huntelaar
16Robin van PersieStriker
-Wilfred Bouma
-Stijn Schaars
7Dirk KuytStriker
11Arjen RobbenMidfielder
17Kevin StrootmanMidfielder
-Stojan KolevGoalkeeper
-Ivan IvanovDefender
-Nikolay BodurovDefender
-Stanislav ManolevDefender
-Veselin MinevDefender
-Jordan MinevDefender
-Georgi MilanovMidfielder
-Ivelin PopovStriker
-Svetoslav DyakovMidfielder
-Vladimir Gadzhev
10Valeri BojinovStriker
-Ivan StoyanovStriker
-Iliyan MitsanskiStriker
-Ivan Čvorović
-Valentin Iliev
-Alexandar TonevMidfielder
-Hristo ZlatinskiMidfielder
Players to Watch
Robin van Persie
Robin van Persie
Position: Striker
Squad Number: 16
Games Goals YC RC
1 0 0 0
After Huntelaar started against Bayern Munich, Van Persie is likely to get the nod versus Bulgaria. The Arsenal star has had a fantastic season in the Premier League, yet isn't an undisputed starter at Oranje due to the stiff competition up front. The match at the Amsterdam ArenA is the perfect opportunity for the former Feyenoord attacker to show that he deserves a starting berth in the national team, too.
Stanislav Manolev
Stanislav Manolev
Position: Defender
Squad Number: 0
Games Goals YC RC
0 0 0 0
The PSV wing-back is one of the few big names in Bulgaria's squad for Saturday's friendly, and he'll be determined to show what he can do in the country where he plays his club football. Manolev has not had the best of seasons, but the 26-year-old has shown in the past that he could trouble any opponent with his runs forward down the right wing.
Prediction
Oranje might have a rather unimpressive record in friendly games, but the Dutch should be able to beat the Bulgarians on Saturday. The hosts have some of the world's best attackers in their squad, while having plenty of creativity in midfield, too. Bulgaria will struggle to contain the Netherlands at the Amsterdam ArenA, and are likely to return home with a defeat.
Editor's Prediction
Netherlands 2
Bulgaria 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
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