Netherlands will stick to guns to counter Iceland

Having endeavoured to put in place a philosophy based on possession football since his appointment in November 2010, Netherlands coach Roger Reijners vowed to remain true to his ideals against Iceland on Wednesday.

The pair meet at the Växjö Arena locked on a single point in Group B, and knowing even victory would likely only secure them third spot in the section and, with it, the possibility of going through to the quarter-finals. Despite claiming a creditable goalless draw with Germany using a counter-attacking strategy, Reijners insisted his team remain determined to "play our own style".

Iceland counterpart Sigurdur Eyjólfsson, meanwhile, called the encounter "probably the biggest game in our history" and hoped his squad would continue to thrill their compatriots.

Permutations
• The Netherlands will be through with a win, but can only finish second in that case if Germany lose to Norway enough to slip behind on goal difference or goals scored (if both finish level, Germany will be second due to their coefficient as per Article 8.05 of the official competition regulations).

• Iceland will be through with a win, but can only finish second in that case if Norway lose to Germany enough to slip behind on goal difference or goals scored (if both finish level, Norway will be second due to their coefficient as per Article 8.05 of the official competition regulations).

• If the Netherlands draw they would not be out. They would be guaranteed a place in the best third-place draw with Denmark and both teams would be through if England and Russia both lose on Thursday.

Roger Reijners, Netherlands coach
We're looking forward to it, we're optimistic. Iceland are very physically strong, and will play football. It'll be a difficult game against a strong opponent. They are similar to Norway in many respects, but their organisation is different.

It was a disappointment to lose to Norway, not only because we dropped three points, but also in the way we played. Norway deserved to win, and played very well. We didn't play as well as we had against Germany. It was a blow to lose a game in that way.

There's no tactical dilemma. I said before the tournament that we wanted to play our own style, and that's what we want to do. If you play against Germany, you have to defend more than against other teams. We wanted to play football and keep the ball against Germany too, but where you can play on the pitch depends on your opponent and what they want to do.

It doesn't worry me that we haven't scored. It would if we hadn't created any chances, but against Germany and Norway we had opportunities. If we lose the match, and have to go home, we'll be disappointed. Our goal this tournament was to do better than four years ago, so if that's not the case, it'll be a disappointment.

Matchday one result
Germany 0-0 Netherlands

Matchday two result
Norway 1-0 Netherlands (Gulbrandsen 54)
Geurts, Bito, Koster, Van den Heiligenberg (Worm 60), Hoogendijk, Van de Ven, Spitse (Dekker 86), Melis, Van de Donk (Versteegt 77), Martens, Slegers

• Player of the Match: Marit Fiane Christensen (Norway)

• Solveig Gulbrandsen's goal was a blow after the opening draw with Germany.

• On a booking: Dyanne Bito

Team news
"All the players are fit," Reijners told UEFA.com with an assured air ahead of his squad's last training session before the match.

Sigurdur Eyjólfsson, Iceland coach
We're looking forward to the occasion. It's probably the biggest game in our history, a final to get into the quarter-finals. I think the players are very excited to play. Both teams want to win, but hopefully we'll be smiling after the match, too.

We've entered this tournament with the aim of playing well enough for our country to be proud of us. I think we've done that so far, and given it our best effort. I hope they'll continue to do that. I'm proud of the way the team has played, and hopefully we have more than one match ahead of us.

They've responded well to the defeat against Germany. We didn't have much of a chance in that game, we caught them on a good day. There's no time to really be upset for long as you have to prepare for the next game. The matches come very quickly and training has been all about recovery and preparing for the Netherlands game. Morale is good.

Matchday one result
Norway 1-1 Iceland (Hegland 26, Vidarsdóttir 87p)

Matchday two result
Iceland 0-3 (Lotzen 24, Da Mbabi 55 84)
G Gunnarsdóttir, Viggósdóttir, Gísladóttir, Magnúsdóttir, S Gunnarsdóttir, Jónsdóttir, Vidarsdóttir, Lárusdóttir, Brynjarsdóttir (Ómarsdóttir 46, Ódinsdóttir 70), Thorsteinsdóttir, Hönnudóttir.

• Player of the Match: Célia Okoyino da Mbabi (Germany)a,e

• Iceland were left needing a win in their final game after defeat by the holders.

• On a booking: Katrin Jónsdóttir, Hólmfrídur Magnúsdóttir

Team news
A host of midfield players required late fitness tests with Katrín Ómarsdóttir's strained hamstring, which forced her off barely 20 minutes after coming off the bench against Germany, the biggest cause for concern.

Match fact
This is the teams' seventh meeting. Iceland have won four of the previous six with one draw and one defeat, scoring nine goals and conceding four.

Did you know?
Iceland's Sara Björk Gunnarsdóttir and Netherlands forward Manon Melis are team-mates at FC Malmö.