Netherlands keen to have sushi, ahead of Japan clash

19 June,2010 07:24 AM IST |   |  Agencies

Dutch striker Kuyt hopes to consume Japanese on pitch tonight; Sneijder calls for a performance oriented display


Dutch striker Kuyt hopes to consume Japanese on pitch tonight; Sneijder calls for a performance oriented display

Dirk Kuyt who was in a playful mood yesterday, taunted: "A lot of Dutch players enjoy eating sushi. We hope to have some for dinner tomorrow night."

The Dutch look desperate to turn on their usual attacking flair as they take on Japan tonight.

However ace winger Wesley Sneijder has asked his teammates to rather focus on getting the results sighting his experience from a treble-winning season with Inter Milan.

"I have changed since playing in Italy. I have understood many things from my season at Inter. For example a team that wins without playing well has more quality," he said.

"We won the Champions League playing for the result, and in the end we had the cup in our hands, no one questioned how we had won it.

"But I want more, I want to win the World Cup. We want to get to the next round in the best of ways, then it won't matter who we get. We have to improve though and adapt to playing at altitude."

Sneijder has set has sights on winning the World Cup. The ace winger is confident the Oranje can go all the way.

The Dutch got off to a flying start on Monday night when they beat Denmark 2-0 in the Group E opener, and they can virtually confirm themselves a place in the next round if they overcome a fast and pacey Japan.

Despite beating Denmark in the opener, critics spoke of a discouraging performance by the Dutch and that lacked spark. Sneijder believes winning comes before champagne football.

"In Holland they are only interested if you win 6-0 or 7-0 with great play and spectacle. Against Japan we will be at sea level. We will play to expectation, but for me winning is more important," he concluded.

Japan vs Netherlands: Key battles

Yuki Abe vs Mark van Bommel
u00a0
Yuki Abe has promised to wind the Dutch up during the game, and the holding midfielder is looking for results similar to those he achieved against Cameroon. He will be up against Mark van Bommel who will look to surge up from the center.

Keisuke Honda vs Nigel de Jong
Japan came into the World Cup thinking where would the goals come from. Honda provided the answer by scoring in the very first match against the fancied Cameroon. Netherland's robust defensive midfielder Nigel De Jong, will have a task at hand to keep the CSKA Moscow man in check tonight.
"Exciting news! Mid-day is now on WhatsApp Channels Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!
Dirk Kuyt Netherlands Japan FIFA World Cup 2010