Oranje demolition job

Rafael van der Vaart and Dirk Kuyt are ecstatic to put one past Les Bleus

Nederland ruthlessly crushed the French 4-1 to book their place in the next round of Euro 2008. This is pure Dutch masterclass as another team is run ragged by the Oranje offensive play. France came into the match being very aware of the way the Italians were dismantled by the rampage. Efforts were being placed to stifle the Dutch attacking motion. Makalele and Toulalan are placed in the middle to anchor the defence. Henry plays as the lone striker supported by Ribery in the AMC position. The Dutch played the similiar starting eleven that they used against Italy.

The first blood was drawn by the Oranje just within 9 minutes when Kuyt pumps in a header from van der Vaart's corner kick. The Dutch onslaught has begun. The French came close a couple of times during the first half to equalise but van der Sar was there to save the day as always. The first half ended with a goal in favour of the Dutch. van Basten's intention to seal the game was evident when he decided to pull out the defensive Engelaar for Arjen Robben. So, in goes Robben at the wing and Sneijder back at center along with van der Vaart. Dutch attack went one up notch. At the 55th minute, van Persie was thrown in to create an ultimate attacking force. 4 minutes later, van Nistelrooy does a nice back flick to Robben who in his energetic sprint dashed across the left wing to set up a goal for van Persie. 2-0 up, and the French felt that it's gonna take a hell of a task to get back on track.

France could have perhaps gotten a lifeline when Henry glided the ball across the goal mouth where it just managed to squeeze in. van der Sar didn't take much action because it looked as if it would be heading out. The Dutch pegged back immediately within seconds and Robben is at again but this time, he finishes it himself to restore Nederland's 2 goal cushion. It was a tight angle but he managed get it through. At the 92nd minute, Sneijder blasted one from outside the box, leaving Coupet with no chance at all. The world is left breathless at the sight of such stunning display of attacking football. This is the rebirth of Total Football.

Previously, Nederland had found themselves under criticism for lack of teamwork and quality. Four Four Two and Football Weekly had articles declaring that Total Football is dead. And they were proven WRONG big time.Obviously at press time, the writers could not imagine that the Oranje would actually put 7 goals past the World cup finalists and conceded only 1 goal in the process.

The 3-0 victory over the Italians is of no fluke as the French have discovered themselves after being thumped 4 goals. Never have I seen an international team so devastating in tearing apart another and what made it more impressive was that those were titanic teams and not little noobies. The Dutch defence can be horrible at times but the attack is so excellent that they could just play a game where they can outscore their opponents. The speed of attacking and counterattacking is devastating, and even at such high speed, passing accuracy is not compromised at all. I would say that it can easily reach 90% above. Another strange thing is how the Dutch attackers could intercept and tackle so cleanly and efficiently to the extent that it can sometimes put Rio Ferdinand to shame.

The team that finished second in Group D will have the misfortune in encountering the Dutch. The case in Group C is that regardless of what results Nederland gets against Romania, they will still finish first. As for our dear France and Italy, they have to slug it out and hope that Romania don't achieve victory. For the Oranje, the key players can take a nice rest as they prepare for the quarter finals.