World Cup 2010: The Netherlands 2-1 Slovakia

The game

I’m going to record this for posterity: watch out for The Netherlands. They are the predators in this tournament. Other teams, like Brasil, Spain, Germany, Argentina, they are full blown soldier teams, you know what they can do and they’re strong. But Holland are the snipers. A team full of quality up front, and in all sectors really, but that has the mental fortitude to sit back and wait for an opponent’s error. They have a game plan and they stick to it, and I see them going far. In this match, they were always in control, and that’s what impressed me the most.

The teams

Slovakia was one of the good teams in this tournament. I followed their campaign through the qualifying stage and I have the pleasure of having a few Slovak friends that are very happy about the way their Football Association is handling the national teams and how they are protecting their young players, and I hope we see the fruits of that labor in times to come.

I’ve already said a lot about The Netherlands, so I’ll just say a word about Robben. It’s good to see him back in good form and, at the same time, it’s good to see that Holland aren’t dependent on him.