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Netherlands, Argentina think of present
New generation looks for win, not back on 1978
Posted: Friday July 03, 1998 11:12 AM
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Argentina won the match of the tournament against England to advance to the quarterfinals (AP) |
MARSEILLE, France (AP) --
In a repeat of the 1978 final, the Netherlands
faces Argentina on
Saturday, this time with a place in the World Cup's last four at stake.
On home soil, Argentina won the '78 game 3-1 after extra time for its
first Cup championship, went on to win another title in 1986 and made the
finals again in 1990. The Dutch haven't even made the semifinals since.
But Dutch captain Frank de Boer says 20 years is too long to harbor
thoughts of revenge as the teams prepare for their first World Cup meeting
since the Buenos Aires encounter. "For me, it is not important," De
Boer said. "This generation just wants to reach their goal, and that is to
go as far as possible." Both sides are unbeaten going into the
quarterfinals. But both had to survive hard-fought second round matches to
get this far. The Dutch progressed after beating Yugoslavia
2-1 on a 92nd-minute goal by midfielder Edgar Davids; Argentina came from
behind to force a 2-2 draw with England and
then won the match 4-3 on penalties. Argentine coach Daniel
Passarella seems to be anticipating a similarly close encounter against the
Netherlands. In training Thursday, goalkeeper Carlos Roa was put through
his paces against a barrage of spot kicks. Passarella also is likely
to make at least one change to his defense, which cruised through the
qualification round without conceding a goal but at times was static and
vulnerable against England. Fullback Roberto Sensini, who missed
Argentina's last two matches with a pulled muscle, is expected to play,
relegating Nelson Vivas to the bench. While five-goal marksman
Gabriel Batistuta is expected to remain a starter against the Dutch,
Passarella's training sessions suggest Abel Balbo, a striker with Italy's Roma,
will start instead of Valencia's Claudio Lopez. The Netherlands
likely will be missing right back Michael Reiziger, who suffered a badly
bruised foot against Yugoslavia. If he is not fit, coach Guus Hiddink will
likely start with versatile midfielder Aron Winter in Reiziger's place.
"The team is mentally fit and physically fit so we are feeling confident
going into the tough task in Marseille," Hiddink said. "It is good
to be in the last eight. That is excellent, but we are not satisfied with
that. We will play them in our own style to make the step to the last
four." Hiddink's talent-packed young team also has to overcome a
psychological barrier Saturday. The Netherlands has exited its last two big
tournaments at the quarterfinal stage -- at the 1994 World Cup and the 1996
European Championship. But Hiddink said those defeats would not be
on his players' minds. "The only hurdle is a strong Argentinean side,
so we have to jump high." Passarella, who captained Argentina when
it beat the Netherlands in the 1978 final, appears to be intent on beefing
up his team's defensive capabilities as it faces the attacking Dutch
lineup. Javier Zanetti, whom Passarella considers too eager to
attack and to unenthusiastic to defend, looks likely to give up his
starting place to Mauricio Pineda. But even if the Argentines reign
in their usual offensive style against the Dutch, Hiddink has drummed into
his team that it must concentrate throughout the game to avoid Batistuta's
threat. "I know Batistuta very well from my two years in Italy,"
Dutch striker Dennis Bergkamp said of the Fiorentina star. "If he gets good
service from his team, he never makes a mistake." For Dutch
midfielder Boudewijn Zenden, the match at the Stade Velodrome in almost as
big as the final. "If we win this game, we will be well on the way
to being world champions," he said. "We will get extra confidence because I
think Brazil
is as good as Argentina, but not better."
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