© EuroFootball.com
O
Round of 16, Portugal - Netherlands
Location: Frankenstadion, Nuremberg, 22:00 Lithuanian time
Referee: Valentin Ivanov
News. Coaches and players' comments
The Portuguese coach can choose from a full squad, as in the last group stage match, Felipe Scolari allowed all players with yellow cards to rest. In the third group stage match, M. Van Basten also allowed the team leaders to rest, so the strongest Dutch lineup is likely to take the field against Portugal. The only player causing concern is defender Johnny Heitinga, who suffered a minor injury.
In this match, two "Manchester United" players will compete against each other - Dutchman Ruud van Nistelrooy and Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo. Interestingly, these two players had a conflict during training last season. However, both players claim that the disagreement was insignificant.
"Nothing serious happened. Disagreements are inevitable in professional teams. Ruud is one of the people I get along with very well." - said C. Ronaldo.
However, it may also happen that we won't see these players face each other if Dutch coach Marco van Basten leaves R. van Nistelrooy on the bench. This possibility arose after the group stage matches, where the striker managed to score only once in three games.
"There is a possibility that Dirk Kuyt will start the match. We expect more from Ruud playing in the center of the attack. I think he understands that if he plays poorly, he will be replaced." - said the Dutch coach.
In this matchup, "Chelsea" players Paulo Ferreira and Arjen Robben will also have to compete against each other. Portuguese P. Ferreira admitted that it will be difficult to play against A. Robben: "I have known A. Robben for two years, we train together every day during the season. He is a player who will be very difficult to contain."
Another interesting factor is that the Portuguese player Helder Postiga joked that the Dutch coach was his favorite player: "M. van Basten was my idol, maybe I'll get his autograph after the match." However, the player admitted that victory is more important than an autograph.
History
The match statistics between these teams should raise more concern for Dutch fans - in the last nine matches, the Netherlands only won one game, while Portugal won five encounters. In official matches between the two teams, Portugal also performed better - they won three matches and played one draw, while the Dutch only won one game. By the way, this happened at the 1992 European Championship.
The last time the teams met was in the semi-finals of the 2004 European Championship, where Portugal won 2-1 and advanced to the final. Portugal should start Sunday's match with almost the same lineup as in 2004 - the only change is that Jorge Andrade, who suffered an injury before the championship, will not play. Meanwhile, the Netherlands will be completely rejuvenated for this match - compared to the 2004 European Championship, only eight Dutch players remain in the squad. The Dutch coach has also changed - Dick Advocaat was replaced by the young and ambitious Marco van Basten.
Before the match, the coach also emphasized the rejuvenation of the teams: "After two years, we will once again compete against Portugal, but the team has completely changed. The national team has been rejuvenated, and the World Cup differs from the European Championship. We will play against a very strong team, but they know that we will not let them play their game. This adds even more intrigue to this match."
The Portuguese coach acknowledged that past victories mean nothing: "With M. van Basten's arrival, many things have changed in the national team. Although we did well in previous matches, this will be a very difficult match. We have already seen their abilities."
Predicted lineups
Portugal: Ricardo, Miguel, Carvalho, Meira, Valente, Costinha, Maniche, Figo, Deco, Ronaldo, Pauleta.
Netherlands: Van der Sar, Boulahrouz, Ooijer, Mathijsen, Van Bronckhorst, Van Bommel, Sneijder, Cocu, Van Persie, Van Nistelrooy, Robben.
