Van der Vaart earns Dutch draw

Long throw
Wayne Rooney's first-half goal looked to have secured England's first win on Dutch soil since 1969 but four minutes from time, the visitors failed to deal with a long throw into the box and Van der Vaart latched on to Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink's flick-on to lash the ball inside the far post.

Rooney breaks deadlock
Much of the talk before this friendly had centred on striker Andrew Johnson's first England start since May 2005 but it was his fellow forward Rooney who broke the deadlock on 37 minutes, flicking Joe Cole's excellent right-wing cross past Henk Timmer to record his first international goal in 12 months.

Early chances
Both teams had their chances in an even first half. After ten minutes Arjen Robben drew a save from England goalkeeper Paul Robinson and Denny Landzaat headed the rebound wide. Moments later Steven Gerrard raced on to Khalid Boulahrouz's weak back-pass at the other end but shot too close to Timmer.

Seedorf returns
Rooney was also profligate when he directed a free header at Timmer, but after he had given England the lead, Steve McClaren's side looked comfortable against a home team featuring Clarence Seedorf, recalled for his first appearance under Van Basten. Even after the disappointment of Van der Vaart's equaliser, Gerrard almost stole a late winner with a low shot at substitute goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg. McClaren can at least reflect with satisfaction on a solid debut from Manchester City FC's teenage right-back Micah Richards.