HOLLAND v ARGENTINA - THE BEAN PREVIEW
Holland 12/5 draw 21/10 Argentina evens. (
Bet Internet)
One of the most anticipated ties of the tournament kicks off this
evening
when the two footballing powers of Holland and Argentina collide in
Frankfurt.
This match will decide who will finish top of Group C, as
both
teams are on six points. Argentina have the upper hand as they have
a
far superior goal difference. The team who finish second in the group
will
be likely to face England in the quarter-finals.
The two countries have played seven times previously with the
Argentines
only winning once, which was the World Cup final of 1978. The Dutch
have won
four times and the remaining two games were draws.
Philip Cocu should be able to play after shaking off an ankle injury.
Marco
Van Basten has hinted that he will rest van Bronckhorst, Robben, van
Bommel,
and Mathijsen due to them having a yellow card. Dirk Kuyt and Jan
Kromkamp
will be two of the players drafted in place for the four who are
rested.
Midfielder Luis Gonzalez will miss out on the Argentinean starting line
up
due to a groin strain. It is also expected that Villarreal midfielder
Juan
Roman Riquelme will be rested for the match. Gabriel Heinze and Hernan
Crespo are on a yellow card and may start on the bench to avoid
suspension.
Pablo Aimar, Julio Cruz, Carlos Tevez and Gabriel Mitto are expected to
start this evening.
Both these countries are well known for their free flowing attacking
football so it could lead to a lot of goals, or after all the build up
and
hype it will be a damp squib of a match and end up a goalless draw at
odds
of 5/1. But in reality, it really has the
makings of a special night of football.
The last competitive match between the two nations was at France 98
when the
Dutch triumphed with a 2-1 win in the quarter-final stage. For a repeat
of
the 2-1 scoreline tonight you can get odds of 12/1. In two warm up
matches
Argentina were beaten 3-2 by England and Croatia; for the feat to occur
for
the third time you can get odds of 33/1.
The history maybe in favour of the Europeans, but Argentina is in
magnificent form at the moment and could probably beat anyone, which is
why
they go into the match favourites. For a 3-1 win you can get odds of
16/1
and for a 3-2 victory the odds are 22/1. You can get odds of 150/1 for
Argentina to repeat their performance of the mauling of Serbia and
Montenegro with a 6-0 win.
My prediction 3-3 (50/1)
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