Holland 3-1 Poland
LAUSANNE, Switzerland (Reuters) - Patrick Kluivert scored twice as the Netherlands eased to a comfortable 3-1 win over
Poland in an international friendly on Sunday but there remained
questions about their defence a week before Euro 2000 starts.
Two goals from an in-form Kluivert, the second a header,
after the break settled the match after Pawel Kryszalowicz's
38th minute tap-in, the first Polish goal of the year, cancelled
out the Dutch opener from a Frank de Boer free kick.
The Dutch made heavy work of the first half, allowing a few
Polish breaks. Keeper Edwin van der Sar had to make two
reasonable saves in the first 20 minutes and, after the Dutch
had scored, they soon gave away their advantage.
Tomasz Rzasa broke through and although Van der Sar parried
his shot Kryszalowicz was on hand to knock in the rebound.
The Dutch, however, proved they had too much class for their
opponents in the second half as two of their substitutes set up
Kluivert's double.
Peter van Vossen, who looked dangerous on the left, produced
a perfect throughball for the Barcelona forward's first goal
while Ronald de Boer, playing his first competitive game for
some months, crossed five minutes later for Kluivert to head in
at the near post.
Dutch coach Frank Rijkaard said his side had given the ball
away too much in the first half and looked on passively as
Polish players fought for the ball.
'There was also too little communication at the back. So
when their players switched they were able to push through,'
Rijkaard said.
The Dutch players, who have had a week of mainly condition
training in Switzerland, return to the Netherlands on Monday and
regroup on Tuesday. They open their Euro 2000 campaign against
the Czech Republic on Sunday.
Rijkaard now has five days to prepare his squad tactically
and tend to a few lingering injuries. Defender Arthur Numan
appears to be recovering from a minor strain, while Marc
Overmars, left out of training for the last couple of days, has
an injured thigh.
'We have been training fairly hard here and can now calmly
build up for the first game,' said captain Frank de Boer.