MATCH 23 REVIEW : PERFECT PERFORMANCE AT LAST

Passion and skill
Dick Advocaat's side had come in for much criticism after their collapse against the Czech Republic on Saturday, but here they brushed aside Latvia in a display of passion and no small amount of skill. The qualities of players like Arjen Robben and Ruud van Nistelrooij are there for all to see, but when the Dutch can add determination to their undoubted ability, it can be a potent brew.

Sweden next
From the outset the Netherlands went in search of victory hoping that a weakened Czech Republic could do them a favour by holding Germany to a draw in Lisbon. In fact, a makeshift Czech side went one better and produced a 2-1 victory, paving the way for a Netherlands versus Sweden encounter on Saturday in Faro-Loulé.

Focused on Braga
Advocaat said: "We were really focused on our game and not thinking about the other one. The important thing was to win our game and we concentrated for the entire game - we gave only one half-chance away in the first half and created enough chances ourselves to have won the match by more than 3-0. You saw the way everyone reacted after the win. This is more important than all the criticism. I was very happy with the reaction of the players on the pitch."

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