© EuroFootball.com
Traumatized Netherlands national team attacking organizer Rafael van der Vaart will have to miss the friendly World Cup preparation match on Sunday against Australia.
The Dutch midfielder, who underwent a shin operation in April, felt pain in the same shin during training, but Head coach Marco van Basten believes that van der Vaart will be properly prepared for the most important matches in the World Cup and that this injury will not affect his game.
"Rafael looks good enough, but it would be unwise to let him play against the Australian team," - said Netherlands national team coach Marco van Basten after the victory over Mexico with a score of 2-1.
"He is a player with special abilities, but he must earn a permanent place in the starting lineup through hard work during training," - said the coach about the talented footballer.
It is expected that in the match against the team coached by his compatriot Guus Hiddink, the Australian national team, Van Basten hopes to field the strongest team on the field, as the substitutes have already had a chance to play in the match against Mexico.
The Dutch coach and his team are preparing to travel to Germany on Thursday to properly prepare for the first World Cup matches scheduled for June 11 against Serbia and Montenegro. In the same group as the Dutch, Argentina and Ivory Coast national teams will also compete.
