Holland cautious about Scotland

February 16, 2009

Dutch captain Giovanni van Bronckhorst says he is not taking Scotland lightly ahead of their match in Amsterdam on the 28th of March.

“Of course they are capable,”

“Nowadays you never know what the outcome will be. Every match day has unexpected results and we have to make sure it won’t happen to us.”
Only one team are certain to qualify with Holland sitting 5 points ahead of second place Scotland.

The Scots have had a mixed campaign so far with a win, a draw and a defeat from three matches.

But, with a 100 percent record so far in the group, Feyenoord star van Bronckhorst believes the Dutch are close to clinching that berth.

“We had a great start and if we can beat Scotland and Macedonia we will take a huge step,” he said.

“We all want to go to South Africa, and we want to finish the job, but we have to win the home matches.”

Scotland got beat 6-0 the last time they played Holland in the Amsterdam arena even though they took over a 1-0 lead from the first leg.

“Of course people would expect Holland to win, and if we lose it’s a big upset,” admitted the 34-year-old.

“But Scotland is a very passionate team, and with passion you can win as well. It’s a very strong attribute to have.

“We saw a couple that a few years ago - the passion they showed at Hampden against us was huge.

“I’m sure they’ll bring that passion to Amsterdam next month.

“So we have to make sure we’re at our best, and then I’ll be confident we can get a good result.”

McFadden, the match-winner against the Dutch at Hampden in 2003, is a major doubt for the trip as he is recovering from knee ligament damage.

“McFadden is a player who caused us many problems,” said van Bronckhorst. “As well as that passion he has technical ability and is very important for the team.”

Before leaving for Arsenal, van Bronckhorst struck up a good playing partnership with current Scotland captain Barry Ferguson at Ibrox.

“It’ll be nice to see Barry again,” he added. “He’s playing further up the field for Scotland and he’s definitely one we’ll have to watch closely.

“He’s very strong and he has the ability to give the killer pass.

“But Scotland as a unit is very strong, and they showed that as they just missed out on qualifying for last summer’s European Championship.

“We saw that they had some great results against the big teams - France and Italy - so we are well prepared for them and very motivated.”

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