Netherlands coach Bert van Marwijk seems to have built a solid framework for his team who cruised to a 4-1 World Cup warm-up win over Ghana on Tuesday.
Dirk Kuyt cut in from the right flank to open the scoring after half-an-hour when he netted a rebound after goalkeeper Richard Kingson blocked a shot from Robin van Persie.
The Dutch added three more in the last 20 minutes although a defensive blunder by Joris Mathijsen allowed Asamoah Gyan to pull a goal back five minutes after Rafael van der Vaart had doubled the home side's lead in the 73rd minute.
Wesley Sneijder then got the best goal of the night against a disappointing World Cup-bound Ghana side when he volleyed home from a Van der Vaart corner from outside the area.
Striker Van Persie added a fourth from the penalty spot, his third goal in two matches, after Kingson fouled Van der Vaart.
With only Arjen Robben missing, with a minor hip strain, Van Marwijk gave midfielder Ibrahim Afellay a run out and reserve goalkeepers Michel Vorm and Sander Boschker played a half each.
The coach had named his 23-man squad for the finals on May 27, the day after Netherlands beat Mexico 2-1 with a Van Persie double in a friendly played in Freiburg, Germany.
They host Hungary on Saturday in their final warm-up match before travelling to South Africa, where they face Denmark on June 14 followed by Japan and Cameroon in Group E.
© 2024 Rediff.com -