The Netherlands crushed a weakened Russia 4-1 on Wednesday as visiting coach Guus Hiddink endured another miserable day back on home soil.
Just a day after Hiddink, who took Australia to the World Cup last year, was accused of tax evasion, he then found little to cheer on the pitch as the Dutch turned on the style in this friendly international against his Russian side.
But the Netherlands had to wait until late in the match before they were sure of victory after Russian goalkeeper Igor Akinfejev pulled off a string of fine saves in the opening period.
PHOTO: AFP
"Despite this heavy defeat, I'm happy that the match took place," Hiddink said.
Rhythm
"It was important to get the experience, the rhythm. We didn't have the strength to worry the Dutch," he said. "But my players are clearly short of competition. The Russian championship is in a winter break from November to March and the boys will only return to training in two weeks' time."
The home side took a deserved lead through Ryan Babel who scored with a 20m drive in the 69th minute.
Wesley Sneijder, who had come on as a second half substitute, turned the game and helped himself to the second goal of the night in the 72nd minute with a fine shot from out left.
Penalty
Piotr Bistrov pulled a goal back for Russia in the 77th minute but Joris Mathijsen headed in the Dutch third from a corner from Sneijder in the 81st minute before a Rafael Van der Vaart penalty made it 4-1 in the 89th minute.
It was a pleasing result for Dutch coach Marco Van Basten who was missing 10 players including Robin van Persie and Arjen Robben.
Russia were handicapped by the fact that the long winter off-season meant that most of the squad hadn't played since the end of November.
"The win will be great for morale," van Basten said. "But we have to remember that our opponents suffered physically in the second half. We took risks at the end of the match and that paid off."
OUT AGAINST INDONESIA: Taiwan reached the semi-finals at the tournament for the first time by defeating Denmark, with Chou Tien-chen beating Viktor Axelsen Taiwan yesterday crashed out of the Thomas Cup team competition in Chengdu, China, but achieved their best result at the top-tier badminton event by reaching the semi-finals. Indonesia were too good in the semis, winning 3-0 to advance to today’s final against China, who eliminated Malaysia 3-1. In the opening singles of the men’s team clash at the Hi-Tech Zone Sports Center Gymnasium 2, Anthony Ginting defeated Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen 21-18, 21-19 in 51 minutes, which put a huge hole in Taiwan’s aspirations to perhaps even make the final. In the men’s doubles, Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Ardianto downed Lee Yang and Wang
Top-ranked Iga Swiatek on Saturday came through “the most intense and crazy final” she has ever contested to avenge her loss to Aryna Sabalenka in last year’s Madrid Open final with a grueling three hour, 11 minute victory in the Spanish capital. Coming back from 1-3 down in the decider and saving three match points in total, Swiatek claimed a 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (9/7) victory to secure the Madrid Open trophy for the first time. “Well, who is going to say now that women’s tennis is boring, right?” Swiatek said. Swiatek, who picked up the 20th title of her career, and ninth at
When 42-1 underdog James ‘Buster’ Douglas shocked ‘Iron’ Mike Tyson 34 years ago at the Tokyo Dome, the result reverberated worldwide. Spectators at the 45,000-plus seater venue witnessed one of boxing’s biggest upsets as unbeaten heavyweight champion Tyson was knocked out in the 10th round by the unheralded Douglas in February 1990. Boxing returns to the famous venue on Monday for the first time since that unforgettable encounter when Japan’s undisputed super-bantamweight world champion Naoya ‘Monster’ Inoue puts his belts on the line against Mexican Luis Nery. The 31-year-old Inoue (26-0, 23 KOs) is a huge star in Japan and is just
NO DOUBT: Spurs star Wembanyama was unanimously selected as NBA Rookie of the Year, winning all 99 votes to become the first Frenchman to capture the honor The Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night produced a dominant defensive display to seize a commanding 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven playoff series against the Denver Nuggets with a 106-80 road victory. The third-seeded Timberwolves harassed Denver relentlessly to claim a second straight win over the NBA champions as the series heads back to Minneapolis for Game 3 on Friday. Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards scored 27 points apiece, but the star of the show was Minnesota’s suffocating defensive effort, which knocked Denver out of their stride almost from the tip-off. The Timberwolves finished with 11 steals and 12 blocks, in sharp contrast to