THE BIG TEST FOR VAN BASTEN

Holland are rated 10 in the world by FIFA.

Holland are hungry for trophies and victories. The Dutch team has often done well in the big competitions, they reached the semi-finals in 2000 and 2004, but the fact remains that Holland has only won the Euro 1988 and that’s it.

They were disappointing in qualifying finishing behind Romania with a defeat against Belarus. They will meet Romania again in the group C along with France and Italy, no easy group.

But they have the players - Manchester United’s Edwin Van der Sar; Real Madrid’s army of Ruud Van Nistelrooy, Arjen Robben and Wesley Sneijder; young talent like Arsenal’s Robin Van Persie or Liverpool’s Ryan Babel. They will have to do without Milan’s Clarence Seedorf who has just refused to be part of the team.

Marco Van Basten, three times winner of the Ballon d’Or, has been strongly criticized after the World Cup and knows he has to prove he is a good coach.