Pull up your socks
Holland told to cut out sloppy play ahead of France clash
ROTTERDAM: Holland coach Danny Blind has warned his players there will be dire consequences in their next qualifier against France if they repeat some of the sloppy play they exhibited in the 4-1 win over Belarus.
Blind said his side could ill afford any mistakes when they host the Euro 2016 finalists in their Group A showdown in Amsterdam today.
“I saw a lot of good things (against Belarus) but we also played very sloppily for a full quarter of the game,” Blind said of the performance in Rotterdam on Friday.
“We can ill afford that against a strong team like France.
“We’ll have to do a lot more preparation over the next two days.”
Blind added that he was delighted to see Quincy Promes score twice, his first goals for the country in 15 international appearances, after the player had been subjected to negative reviews by the Dutch media.
“He has received lot of criticism from you,” Blind said.
“But I see him play every week and that’s why I played him. I’m not only pleased I made the choice but for him too.”
The Dutch coach also handed a starting spot to Vincent Janssen despite a lack of playing time since his recent move to Tottenham Hotspur and the striker repaid Blind with a stunning goal in the second half.
Blind also defended his decision to make 34-year-old Maarten Stekelenburg his first choice goalkeeper after four years in the international wilderness.
“I might as well tell you the chances are good that he will play again on Monday against France,” Blind added.
Tonny Vilhena has been called into the squad as cover for captain Wesley Sneijder who looks likely to miss the match.
Sneijder, 32, hobbled off at halftime against with a hamstring injury.
“I think the chance that Sneijder will be with us on Monday is very small,” coach Blind said of his injury-prone skipper.
“The time for him to heal is very short.” Sneijder, however, said he was still hopeful of recovering in time.
The 21-year-old Vilhena, who plays for Feyenoord, has one international cap.
The Dutch are already without injured winger Arjen Robben for the game.