Three the key for Netherlands

Forward trio
Advocaat choose to play a 4-3-3 system against Germany in his team's UEFA EURO 2004™ opener, which ended in a 1-1 draw, but had experimented with a 4-4-2 in recent months. However, the coach said on Friday that he would continue with three forwards against the Czechs.

'Not looking ridiculous'
"We will play with three attackers," Advocaat said. "We want to win, and they want to win, so now it is about who is the better team on the day. I will not change my system again to play with two central strikers. That would make me look ridiculous."

Advocaat challenge
Advocaat, who challenged his players "to be better than they were against Germany", insisted there would be no tactical reshuffle ahead of the rematch with the Netherlands' qualifying-round opponents. "We always start with our team and then look at how we should play if we are to stop their best performers." The Dutch drew 1-1 in Rotterdam but lost 3-1 in Prague in the qualifiers.

Not disheartened
Despite taking just a point from those matches, Advocaat said his side "played two excellent games against the Czechs in qualifying, especially in Rotterdam, and the players should take confidence from that.

Counterattacking style
"The two teams know each other very well by now," he continued. "There is not much between us and it will be up to individual performances to decide the game. I don't expect many surprises. The Czechs like to sit back and then hit their opponents on the counterattack and we have to prevent them from doing that."

Stress relief
Advocaat, meanwhile, has tried to improve the mood in the camp by playing a team of youngsters against the older players in training. "I did it to take the stress out of training a bit. I want them to go into the next game feeling a bit easier," he said.

Fit squad
The Netherlands have a clean bill of health for the match, with Wilfred Bouma and Pierre van Hooijdonk joining the rest of the squad in training at the end of Friday's session. Advocaat's men have to beat the Czechs to leapfrog their opponents as Karel Brückner's side won their first game against Latvia.