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Holland prove, they are ready for Euro2000 Holland overcame strong Germany with goals by Kluivert and Zenden. The win, only the second under coach Frank Rijkaard and the first since October 1998, came with first half goals from Patrick Kluivert and Boudewijn Zenden, the second after Christian Ziege had levelled for the Germans. Their new strip, with black shorts as a reminder of their 1970s heyday, may have helped, but less than four months before they open their Euro 2000 campaign, the Dutch finally showed the rhythm and lasting concentration previously lacking. They won by battling in the middle. Edgar Davids, captain for the first time, was irrepressible and, with Clarence Seedorf in the centre, had the beating of Jens Jeremies and Dietmar Hamann. The speed of Kluivert and Ruud van Nistelrooy was a constant threat. "It was a fine game for the Netherlands, especially in the first half and it's to the credit of the team that they came back after Germany had drawn level. Why did we play well? We let the ball do the work, with simple passes," said Rijkaard. Kluivert opened the scoring in the 15th minute. His simple tap-in came after Zenden had centred a neat chip from Davids. But almost immediately the Germans pressed forward and took full advantage of Winston Bogarde's brief absence to attend to a cut on his head. Their goal came in the 22nd minute when Oliver Neuville pushed a ball back from the goal line for Ziege to hammer into the narrow gap between Dutch keeper Edwin van der Sar and the left post. Only six minutes later the Dutch restored their lead when Ronald de Boer crossed and Zenden blasted in an unstoppable left foot volley.
DUTCH DOMINATE The Dutch could, and should, have cleaned up in the first half and gone into the break 4-1 up. Kluivert had the easiest of side-foots to set up Ruud van Nistelrooy but chose to curl the ball round the keeper. In doing so, he curled it round the post. A minute from time, Zenden found himself clear, but struck the woodwork. Van der Sar was forced to punch away second half shots from Hamann and Mehmet Scholl as the Germans improved, but the Dutch again had chances to pull clear. Both Seedorf and late substitute Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink were put through, but neither managed to pass Germany's goalkeeper Oliver Kahn. German coach Erich Ribbeck believed he had lost to the Euro 2000 tournament favourites. He said the defeat had highlighted where the Germans needed to do most work before their next friendly against Croatia in Zagreb. "In the first half, we hardly had any chances and were outplayed. Our play in the second half was much better. We played more fluidly, had some good chances and (Dariusz) Wosz and (Sebastian) Diesler offered more touch and communication," Ribbeck said. Ribbeck complemented the 20-year-old Hertha Berlin midfielder Deisler who was only called into the squad on Sunday and made his debut, but noted that a number of his side needed to bridge the gap between German Bundesliga and the international stage. Those words were clearly not intended for Bayern Munich libero Lothar Matthaeus. The 38-year-old broke a world record with his 144th international appearance, making it through the entire 90 minutes. Also for the record, the Dutch win pulled them level with Germany in games between the two. Each have now won 15 of 43 encounters. Discounting matches against East Germany, it was the Netherlands' first home victory over their arch rivals since 1925.
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