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Orange roll Netherlands tune up for Euro 2000 by beating Poland
Posted: Sunday June 04, 2000 06:26 PM
LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) -- The Netherlands defeated Poland 3-1 in a friendly Sunday in a final tuneup for the upcoming Euro 2000 Championships. It marked just the Netherlands' fourth win in 16 friendlies since coach Frank Rijkaard took over the helm after the 1998 World Cup. The Oranje also has 10 draws and two losses in that span. "It's always important to win a game," said Rijkaard. "We saw this as part of our training session in Switzerland, a good conclusion. We are satisfied but we saw we still need work and have a way to go before the Euro 2000 next week. "We showed we have the qualities necessary and when we put out that little bit extra it can work for us." The Dutch team began slowly in the heavy evening heat blanketing the Lausanne Olympic stadium, showing little of their potential in the first half to the 7,500 spectators in the stands, including a large Dutch contingent which made the trip. Barcelona defender Frank de Boer opened the scoring for the Netherlands on a free kick in the 28th minute after Inter Milan's Clarence Seedorf was roughly pushed down by Polish captain Tomasz Waldoch. De Boer curled the ball over the wall from 25 meters (27 yards) away, with Poland's goalkeeper Jerzy Dudek narrowly missing the shot, grazing the ball with his fingertips as he dove to the left. Pawel Kryszalowicz answered for Poland nine minutes later, when Tomasz Rzasa picked up a long pass, firing it directly at Edwin van der Sar, who simply deflected the shot straight back out. Unprotected, Kryszalowicz immediately picked up the ball to drive it home past van der Sar's right side. The Dutch regained the lead 10 minutes into the second half, with Patrick Kluivert picking up Peter Van Vossen's through pass to slide it past Dudek's short side. Kluivert showed promise for the upcoming European Championships, scoring his second of the match just four minutes later with a header, after Ronald De Boer centered the ball to the Barcelona striker. "The first half was tough and Poland was superior," said Dutch team captain Frank De Boer. "They almost scored twice and that would have changed the entire pace of the game."
Lineups: The Netherlands: Edwin van der Sar; Michael Reiziger, Jaap Stam, Frank De Boer; Giovanni van Bronckhorst, Boudewjin Zenden (Edgar Davids, 46th), Aron Winter (Ronald De Boer, 46th), Phillip Cocu, Clarence Seedorf (Paul Bosvelt, 74th); Patrick Kluivert (Pierre van Hooijdonk, 59th), Dennis Bergkamp (Peter Van Vossen, 46th). Poland: Jerzy Dudek; Tomasz Klos (Jacek Zielinski, 74th), Jacek Bak, Michal Zewlakow; Tomasz Waldoch, Maciej Murawski (Tomasz Zdebel, 66th), Piotr Swierczewski (Mariusz Pawlak, 86th), TomaszIwan; Pawel Kryszalowicz (Tomasz Frankowski, 82nd), Marcin Zewlakow (Radeslaw Gilewicz, 46th), Tomasz Rzasa (Tomasz Kielbowicz, 79th). Referee: Dominique Tavel.
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