© EuroFootball.com
Today at 21:45 Lithuanian time, the D group match of the European Football Championship second round between the Netherlands and the Czech Republic will end at the Municipal stadium.
These two teams should know each other well, as they played in the same qualifying group. By beating the Dutch 3-1, the Czechs secured a ticket to Portugal and forced their opponents to play additional matches, so this is a great opportunity for the Dutch to seek revenge.
Considering that the attack of the Netherlands national team is incomparably stronger than that of Latvia, Czech national team coach Karel Bruckner will likely change his team's tactical scheme, replacing striker Milan Baroš, who excelled in the match against Latvia, with "Liverpool" midfielder Vladimir Šmicer.
In this case, the Czechs would play with 5 midfielders and the lone striker - Jan Koller, but there is a possibility that during the match Bruckner will also introduce Milan Baroš into the game.
Another change will be in the Czech national team's defense - instead of the injured "Auxerre" defender René Bolf, who was supposed to mark Dutch attacking leader Ruud van Nistelrooy, we may see the less experienced "Brugge" player David Rozehnal on the field.
Just like the Czechs, the Dutch national team will also play with a single striker, despite rumors swirling after the match against Germany, where the Dutch played a draw of 1-1, suggesting that Dick Advocaat will field Patrick Kluivert alongside van Nistelrooy in the next match.
Contrary to the Czech national team, the Dutch promise to make multiple tactical changes - Philip Cocu is expected to move to defense instead of Wilfred Bouma, Clarence Seedorf is likely to take his place in the midfield, Arjen Robben should replace Boudewijn Zenden on the left flank, and the recently called-up Paul Bosvelt will have to personally mark Pavel Nedvěd.
Projected line-ups:
Netherlands (4-3-3): Van der Sar; Heitinga, Cocu, Stam, Van Bronckhorst; Bosvelt, Seedorf, Davids; Van der Meyde, Van Nistelrooy, Robben.
Czech Republic (4-5-1): Cech; Grygera, Ujfaluši, Rozehnal, Jankulovski; Poborsky, Rosicky, Galasek, Nedved, Šmicer; Koller.
Match referee: M. Mejuto Gonzalez (Spain)
