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On Thursday, two international friendly matches took place - the second-choice team preparing for the World Cup, the Netherlands, defeated Mexico after two goals in the second half, while South Korea ended their match against Norway goalless.
Last Saturday, the strong Netherlands team defeated Cameroon 1-0, so before the match against Mexico, the coach Marco van Basten decided to try out some substitute players. In the first half, Wesley Sneijder came closest to scoring, but his shot from 25 meters was saved by goalkeeper Oswaldo Sanchez. However, the guests took the lead after a corner kick where Mexico's striker Jared Borgetti scored with a header.
Nevertheless, in the second half, Dutch defender John Heitinga equalized under similar circumstances after playing eight minutes, and in the 57th minute, young teammate Ryan Babel from "Ajax" club turned the result in favor of the Netherlands and helped secure the victory.
In the other match of the day, coached by Dick Advocaat, the South Korean players also not the strongest lineup, played a cautious match ending in a 0-0 draw against the Norwegian team. The initiative in the match was taken by the Norwegians, who did not qualify for the World Cup, but both teams' attacks often ended with unsuccessful shots from a distance.
Results of Thursday's friendly matches:
Norway 0 - 0 South Korea
Netherlands 2 - 1 Mexico
18` [0 - 1] Jared Borgetti
53` [1 - 1] John Heitinga
57` [2 - 1] Ryan Babel
