DE BOER POISED FOR DUTCH START

Netherlands coach Dick Advocaat has hinted that he will keep faith with captain Frank de Boer for the UEFA EURO 2004™ quarter-final against Sweden on Saturday night. De Boer played his first game of the tournament against Latvia earlier this week in place of the injured Wilfred Bouma. "Bouma is fit and has trained, but there is not much reason to change the team," said Advocaat.

Impressive performance
The coach was impressed by De Boer's performance in the 3-0 Group D win against Latvia. "Frank had a fast striker playing against him, so I see no problem. He did very well. I have no doubts about his defensive qualities, and he is a slightly better passer of the ball [than Bouma]."

Larsson threat
Former Rangers FC defender De Boer is ready to start and has the advantage of having played against Sweden's ex-Celtic FC striker Henrik Larsson in Glasgow derbies. "I played against him a couple of times," De Boer said of Larsson, who with three goals is the competition's joint second-top scorer. "We lost both games 1-0 and he scored once from a scrambled effort. I know he can score from every angle, so I will have to concentrate for the whole game."

Sweden warning
De Boer warned his team-mates not to underestimate Group C winners Sweden. "From their first game against Bulgaria, they have played very well. They are a solid side with very good strikers." Striker Roy Makaay added: "They sent Italy home after the group stage, and that says a lot. You cannot say we are the absolute favourites for the match."

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