Van Nistelrooij earns welcome win
Saturday 27 May 2006
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Ruud van Nistelrooij (right) is congratulated after scoring the only goal of the game (©AFP)
Netherlands 1-0 Cameroon
Ruud van Nistelrooij's first-half strike proved enough to give the Netherlands victory in Rotterdam as Marco van Basten's side began their preparations for the FIFA World Cup finals in earnest.
Memorable appearance
In his 50th match for his country, the Manchester United FC striker scored the only goal at the De Kuip stadium midway through the first half. The hosts started with Wesley Sneijder in central midfield due to Rafael van der Vaart's lack of fitness, while Robin van Persie was preferred to Dirk Kuijt on the right of the attack. The Arsenal FC forward was a real handful for the Cameroon defence but attempts to round off his good work by both Van Nistelrooij and Phillip Cocu were saved by Carlos Kaméni.
Opportunist finish
After 23 minutes, however, Van Nistelrooij maintained his remarkable scoring record at international level with his 26th goal, finishing neatly after André Ooijer had headed Cocu's pass out of defence towards the striker. The Dutch dominated thereafter, although Salomon Olembé came close to an equaliser only to be foiled by Edwin van der Sar. The second half was less eventful and Cameroon ended up with ten men as Alioum Saidou was sent off five minutes from time.
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