Van der Sar keeps Dutch waiting
Monday, March 26, 2007
Article summary
Netherlands coach Marco van Basten hopes to field Edwin van der Sar against Slovenia on Wednesday after the goalkeeper sat out the draw with Romania.
Article body
Netherlands coach Marco van Basten is expected to field Edwin van der Sar in Slovenia on Wednesday after the goalkeeper sat out Saturday's UEFA EURO 2008™ Group G qualifying draw against Romania.
Calf injury
The 36-year-old Manchester United FC No1 has been struggling with a calf strain, but should feature in Celje after successfully completing training on Monday. "He trained on Saturday, but not with the rest of the players," Van Basten said. "If we didn't think he had a chance of playing, we wouldn't have included him in the squad."
Players dropped
Maarten Stekelenburg kept a clean sheet in Rotterdam and will keep goal in Slovenia should Van der Sar not be passed fit. However, third-choice custodian Henk Timmer will not travel having been dropped along with Tim de Cler and two players who began Saturday's game, Denny Landzaat and Kew Jaliens. A third starter, Rafael van der Vaart, will also sit out the trip after picking up a calf problem. The unbeaten Dutch lead Group G by three points.
