Once Sneijder scored and it was clear that the Dutch were on to the quarterfinals to play Brazil or Chile, it's obvious that they'll have to pick their game up to another level.
Simply put, if they play on Friday like they did today, they won't win again especially against Brazil.
Robben is the X-factor since he made his first start today and he was the difference-maker. When Netherlands are on, their offense is flowing and they're always pushing the pace. Today, they seemed resigned to a more conservative gameplan which almost allowed Slovakia to come clawing back.
Props to Jan Mucha too, the Slovakian goalkeeper, less goalies would have given up a few more goals.
Final stats:
Netherlands Slovakia
16(9) Shots (on Goal) 14(3)
17 Fouls 19
5 Corner Kicks 2
2 Offsides 2
52% Time of Possession 48%
2 Yellow Cards 3
0 Red Cards 0
2 Saves 7
It's easy to poke holes in their performance today but Netherlands took care of business and they're 4-0-0 in the 2010 World Cup. Nothing wrong with that and with the talent that they can roll out, I think they'll pick it up in the quarterfinals.
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