Round of 16 discussion: Netherlands vs Slovakia

[Point forward]

Will the Dutch continue their flawless record, or will Slovakia pull off the upset?

[cgf]

The dutch will win, but if Slovakia plays like they did today it'll be a great game, Hamsik started coming into his own and Vittek's such a pain in the ass for defenders to deal with that I see a 2-1 or 3-2 dutch win.

[pass first]

Wow this game is really getting a lot of hype.

[Sleepy]

Well, realgm needs more Slovakians...

and, additionally, there's just not much to talk about. Anything but a clear Dutch victory would be very surprising.

[Point forward]

^Yep. Actually, I expect a lopsided win for the Dutchies, their superb do-it-all offense is just tailor made to pick apart underdog teams. It is almost more important for me to see how fit Robben is, Netherlands pls a healthy Robben would be scary.

[cgf]

^Yep. Actually, I expect a lopsided win for the Dutchies, their superb do-it-all offense is just tailor made to pick apart underdog teams. It is almost more important for me to see how fit Robben is, Netherlands pls a healthy Robben would be scary.

Man, I dunno. Slovakia impressed the hell out of meagainst Italy and with Vittek playing as great as he has and Hamsik finally starting to let lose, that Slovakian team seems to have a favorable matchup against the Dutch defenders. Still I think the Dutch win 3-1, but I think this will be a much better game than people are suggesting.

[pass first]

It appears Van der Vaart can't play. Media think Elia will start on the left, or Affelay. Robben might be a possibility but consensus is he won't start.

Besides worried about winning also a bit worried about picking up unnecessary yellows. Referee draws a lot of them. Ithink he sent Klose off. Last thing we need is supensions against Brazil, which is the key game to win in the road to the final. With all due respect I'd rather miss 4 or 5 players against Ghana/Uruguay than 1 or 2 against Brazil.

[AdamTheGreek]

I don't see the Dutch choking just yet. This needs to be a win.

[pass first]

I don't see the Dutch choking just yet.

Don't hold your breath or you might choke yourself.

[Point forward]

Man, I dunno. Slovakia impressed the hell out of meagainst Italy and with Vittek playing as great as he has and Hamsik finally starting to let lose, that Slovakian team seems to have a favorable matchup against the Dutch defenders. Still I think the Dutch win 3-1, but I think this will be a much better game than people are suggesting.

Lat's say it like this: I am ready to eat massive lots of crow if SLK pulls off the unthinkable upset

[Foye]

It appears Van der Vaart can't play. Media think Elia will start on the left, or Affelay. Robben might be a possibility but consensus is he won't start.

Besides worried about winning also a bit worried about picking up unnecessary yellows. Referee draws a lot of them. Ithink he sent Klose off. Last thing we need is supensions against Brazil, which is the key game to win in the road to the final. With all due respect I'd rather miss 4 or 5 players against Ghana/Uruguay than 1 or 2 against Brazil.

I think Elia is better suited than Van der Vaart anyway. Van der Vaart isn't a wing player. He's not effective on the wing. Too slow (kind of reminds me of Schweinsteiger playing on the wing) and always tries to go into the centre (which ends up in Sneijder and van der Vaart standing on their feet). Elia when subbed in was a lot more dangerous than vdV on the wing. VdV primary position should be in the middle but Sneijder is better than him.

[pass first]

Agreed. With fast wingers Sneijder and Van Persie should be more effective too. Get more space because defenses collapse, and Sneijder can send some guys deep. Now no-one is going deep.

I think btw that Van der Vaart is not a winger but regardless where he plays he is the most overrated player we have right now. Much too slow and inefficient. We just got a lot of better options imo.

I hope we'll eventually play Elia and Robben both against Brazil (or Chile). With Van Bommel and De Jong there's still 6 men behind the ball so we should take some more risks to make something happen.

[and1GS]

I'm gonna go out on a limb here...the Dutch win by 2 or more goals.

[dennis00]

The Dutch team with Robben-Sneijder-Elia behind van Persie will be deadly. Future World Cup winners.

They will beat Slovakia, Brazil and Uruguay and then beat Germany, Argentina or Spain in the World Cup Final.

Free beer's to celebrate at my place.

[magik9113]

oranje win easy...call me crazy, but I think Sneijder is the best player behind messi

[and1GS]

CRAZAY!!! He's been very impressive, especially after he excelled in club play by filling a role that Inter had been lacking for a solid decade.

[dennis00]

I am sure Robben, Sneijder and maybe even Van Persie are top-25 football players in the world. Robben and Sneijder are really really good, so maybe top-10. Spain is the only team that can be compared to our quality of players.

Match starts in 2 hours!

[pass first]

I am sure Robben, Sneijder and Van Persie are top-23 football players in the world.

Fixed it for ya.

[pass first]

Arjen Robben in the starting line up!

[5DOM]

I don't think RVP is really close to being a top 25 player, but yea I guess you can definitely say Robben and Sneijder were top 10 last season.