Nederland crashed out

van der Sar looks in vain as the Russians took the lead in extra time

Absolutely shocking. The best performer in the group stages got knocked out by a team which was whipped 1-4 by the Spanish. Hard to believe but Nederland is out of the tournament. From the start to the end of the match, Nederland looked like a shadow of the former self which ruthlessly demolished Italy and France. Russia on the other hand looked very lively. They were taking shots almost from everywhere and they were literally dancing around the Dutch box for most of the time. This is the point where I would say that Guus Hiddink had outwitted van Basten tactically. Being Dutch, he could read the Oranje game well and he learnt to exploit its weaknesses where Domanech and Donadoni had failed to do so. The weakest link of Nederland has always being its defence and what Hiddink did was that he fought fire with fire. He challenged the Oranje to their same kind of game : counterattacking. And the Russkis won the night because they kept their backline tight while the Oranje backline were leaking holes.

The first 45 minutes was goalless but one can get the feeling that it's just a matter of time before the Russkis score. They did so in the 56th minute after countless of missed chances. The heat is on Nederland to equalise and they are having a hell of a time trying to do their usual stuff. The Russkis positioned themselves in such a way that they will choke the Dutch in the vital points of their attack. The Russkis defended deep and were quick to close down whenever Nederland comes charging down the wings. As a result, van Bronckhorst was unusually very quiet and was relegated to defensive jobs only. Whenever Sneijder wanna line up a long range shot, 2 to 3 Russkis would position themselves in front of him to obstruct his view and to block the incoming shot. van der Vaart had a couple of shots on target but Akinfeev was there to save them. As the 85th minute looms about, it looked like the Russkis are gonna get away with a 1-0 win. The Oranje earned themeselves a lifeline when van Nistelrooy emerged with his goal poaching instinct to pop one into the net. They were certainly glad that they could at least extend it by 30 minutes and try to win it. Things seemed to be going their way when one of the Russkis was supposed to be sent off with a second yellow. The referee later retracted the decision since it was judged that Sneijder and the ball was outside play when the Russki slid in. The replay showed it but it's a very very close call. I would say it's just on the line but I think the referee would prefer 11 vs 11 on the field for fair competition sake rather than take one out to destroy the game. But all the hopes were quashed once again when the Russkis struck once more through super sub Torbinsky. Russian famous man Arshavin sealed the win 4 minutes later with a strike through vds' legs. A truly memorable moment for Russian football and it smelt like the time when Zenith Petersburg won the UEFA cup last month.

I really questioned the choice of van Basten's substitutes. By the 61st minute, he had used all his 3 subs and it looked as if he panicked too early. It is important that van Persie gets sub in but I disagreed that Dirk Kuyt was the one who was taken out. In fact, the first one that should go is either Engelaar or De Jong. I have no idea why van Basten wanna stick with his defensive midfielders when it is well known that the Dutch can't defend at all. The Oranje thrives on offence and risk-taking play but van Basten seemed to be rather conservative with his choice of players on the field. Like I say, if the defence cannot make it, then try to outscore the opponents and bring the ball into their half. Kuyt would have provided the sustained dynamism and energy in attacking. Ok, granted that Arjen Robben couldn't be placed on the field coz of his injury, but there are certainly more better sub choices than Heitinga or Afellay. I thought that Boulahrouz should have continued staying on even though his yellow is rather risky. Instead of Afellay, Huntelaar should be sent on to provide some marksman in the team. The Dutch seemed to be working on the basis of their weakness rather than their strength during the whole match. The two defensive midfielders were irrelevant in the attacking play and they can't even do their main job properly, that is to help out in anchoring the defence and to close up open holes. By right, with the substitutions, van der vaart should be in the centre, Sneijder in AMC supporting v. Nistelrooy, Hunterlaar as second supporting striker and v.Persie and Kuyt on the wings.

With Russia through, there are essentially 2 dark horses in the Semis with the other being the Turks. I'm sure Deutschland won't mind the elimination of their rival since they have one less superpower to compete for the cup. And right now they look even hotter to win the tournament. Italy could make a comeback as the favourites too. This is astonishing. The 3 quarterfinal ties that were played so far saw the elimination of the leaders of Group A, B and C. With Spain playing next, one wondered if they would be the next to follow this unauspicious pattern. It seemed like so, since history apparently showed that Spain were unfortunate in matches that fell on 22nd June. Well, I hope they go through instead of the Italians, for the sake of free flowing attacking football :)