HOLLAND TEAM PROFILE : Dutch deliver at the death

Traditionally blessed with individual talent, it could be argued that it took until their final UEFA EURO 2004™ qualifier for the Netherlands to finally show the potential of their current crop of stars.

Van Nistelrooij hat-trick
Having been pipped to automatic qualification from Group 3 by the Czech Republic, following on from failure to make the 2002 FIFA World Cup, Dick Advocaat's side then found themselves beaten 1-0 by Scotland in Glasgow in the first leg of their play-off. But it was a different story four days later in Amsterdam as Wesley Sneijder and André Ooijer quickly put the Dutch ahead, and a Ruud van Nistelrooij hat-trick and Frank de Boer header sealed a 6-0 victory that suggested the 1988 winners could repeat that triumph in Portugal.

Fluid lineup
Edwin van der Sar was the regular goalkeeper for Advocaat, but in front of him was a fluid lineup, Either a 3-5-2 or 4-4-2 could be used - in Scotland they started with the latter and switched to the former- but with touches of the 'total football' that is a national trademark. At right-back, Michael Reiziger, Giovanni van Bronckhorst and André Ooijer were all used, with the experienced Frank de Boer and Jaap Stam in the middle, sometimes with Reiziger. Phillip Cocu and Boudewijn Zenden were used as left-backs.

Midfield talent
Edgar Davids, Andy van der Meyde, Mark van Bommel and Cocu and wingers Clarence Seedorf, Zenden and Marc Overmars were all among midfield players used from an enviable pool of options available to Advocaat, with Welsey Sneijder also forcing his way in late in the qualifiers to fine effect. Rafael van der Vaart, who was still a teenager when the qualifying campaign began, also forced his way in, and was even used as an attacker.

Striking options
That promotion was impressive, as the Dutch were able to call on Ruud van Nistelrooij, Patrick Kluivert, Roy Makaay and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink as striking options. Van Nistelrooij and Kluivert led the line most commonly, though both found themselves dropped at points during the campaign as tensions became strained during the occasional setbacks.

Prague defeat
Indeed it all went wrong in Prague against the Czech Republic, as on the quarter-hour Davids was dismissed for fouling Karel Poborský and Koller converted the resultant penalty. Poborský doubled the lead before the break, and although Van der Vaart pulled one back on 60 minutes, Milan Baroš scored in the final seconds to condemn the Dutch to the play-offs, regardless of their 5-0 win at home to Moldova.

Back in form
Alarm bells then rang when losing 1-0 to a James McFadden goal in Scotland, but the second leg was a different matter, and Van Nistelrooij's hat-trick was proof positive than when on form, there are few nations that can match the Netherlands.

©uefa.com 1998-2004. All rights reserved.