The Netherlands has been more substance than style so far at the World Cup and Bert van Marwijk's team is happy to stay that way to beat giant killer Slovakia and secure a spot in the quarter-finals.

The Netherlands starts as favorite to win, but will not be taking anything for granted Monday in Durban after Slovakia's 3-2 defeat of Italy in group play which sent the defending champion home.

"If we want to play well against the Netherlands we will have to at least repeat our performance against Italy," Slovakia coach Vladimir Weiss said Sunday.

Slovakia also boasts one of the tournament's leading scorers in Robert Vittek, whose three goals place him at the top of the scoring table with six other players.

Despite Vittek's scoring record, Van Marwijk called Slovakia "a very tough team without real stars."

There were signs in the last group game that the famous Dutch "clockwork orange" attacking style of quick passing and running off the ball is finally starting to click.

Robin van Persie's opening goal in his team's 2-1 defeat of Cameroon was a case in point - the Arsenal striker played a one-two with Rafael van der Vaart and Dirk Kuyt stepped over the ball to let it run to Van Persie, who gratefully buried his first goal of the tournament in the back of the net.

Van Marwijk was still not satisfied. He wants the team to control possession and patiently probe for openings in the opponent's defense. It might not please all fans as Dutch "total football" does, but it wins matches, Van Marwijk argues.

Even so, he sees room for improvement.

"We can play better and more beautifully," Van Marwijk said.

His preparations experienced a setback Sunday when Van der Vaart limped off the training field with a left calf injury. Van Marwijk said the extent of the injury was not clear.

Van Marwijk's method has served the Netherlands well; the team is on a record 22-match unbeaten run dating back to September 2008.

Against Cameroon, the Netherlands gave the ball away too often, he said, and will have to be sharper against Slovakia.

"If we are as concentrated as during the first two games and look for space with direct moves, then we are at our best," he said. "Then we have patience, we have speed we can score. But you cannot afford to play that nonchalantly for 20 minutes."

The Netherlands, losing World Cup finalist in 1974 and 1978, beat Denmark 2-0 and Japan 1-0 in its first two games for a perfect record in the group phase.

Slovakia drew 1-1 with New Zealand and lost 2-0 to Paraguay before its decisive victory over Italy sent it into the round of 16.

Van Marwijk said Slovakia will be dangerous because less is expected of them.

"We came here as newcomers and outsiders," Vittek said after his two goals helped decide the upset of Italy. "But we have already surprised once and we want to do it again. We really have moved the limits of Slovak football somewhere else."

Weiss said his team would play with the same spirit against the Netherlands as it did against Italy.

"They are the favourites but you never know," Weiss said. "They have attacking players like (Wesley) Sneijder and Van der Vaart. It's not easy to play against these guys. They won all their matches at the group stage. They are a fantastic team with fantastic players."

The 2010 World Cup debut of Arjen Robben as a second-half substitute against Cameroon gave Dutch fans hope for more beautiful football. The Bayern Munich winger crowned his first appearance in South Africa by unleashing one of his trademark curling left-foot shots that bounced off the inside of the post and straight to Klaas Jan Huntelaar who calmly slotted in the rebound.

Robben, who had a standout season in Germany, injured his left hamstring in the Netherlands' last warmup match, against Hungary on June 5, arrived late in South Africa and sat out the first two Group E matches to recover and return to full fitness.

"We are all very happy he is back," Netherlands captain Giovanni van Bronckhorst said. "Arjen is a player who is very important for the team."

But Robben is a doubt to start Monday. Six of the Netherlands likely starting lineup are carrying yellow cards into the match.

"The Dutch tactics are to make many passes and then they always create a surprise," Weiss said. "And they play differently with or without Robben, so it will be a surprise for us whether he plays from the beginning or not."

Kuyt, van Persie, Van der Vaart, Kuyt, Nigel de Jong, Gregory van der Wiel and captain Giovanni van Bronckhorst could all miss the quarterfinal against Brazil or Chile if they pick up another card.

Brought to you by AAP © 2024 AAP