Dutch Concerned as Biggest Prize Looms

Dutch coach Bert Ban Marwijk has warned his players to keep theri feet on the ground and ignore the hype as they prepare for Tuesday's semi-final against Uruguay as firm favourites.
With expectations back in Holland building to a crescendo, Van Marwijk is keen to stress that with the biggest prize in world football at stake anything can happen. "It will be a very dangerous match. I warned about this in the first day two years ago - there's always the next game," he told reporters.
"The euphoria at home is massive and maybe it's good that we're so far away and can't witness it because we really need to focus  on Uruguay and that won't be easy. They didn't reach the semi-final for nothing, so we have to really focus again and not think that we're already there".

Both sides will be missing key playres for the Cape Town spectacle as a final looms against either Germany or Spain, but the statistics speaks for themselves. Under VAn Marwijk the Oranje have been one of the best performing teams in the world. They picked up eight wins from eight games in Qualifying and have a 100% record from their five games in South Africa, which includes sending Favourites Brazil packing.
Before the tournament, the glore years of Uruguayan football were a fast fading memory, with their last semi-final 40yrs ago and just two appearances in the last five World Cups.
But Under Oscar Tabarez, who also steered them to the last 16 in 1990 as coach, they have been rejuvenated and cannot be written off.
Uruguay though are handicapped by the loss of influential striker Luis Suarez, who misses the game after being red-carded for his deliberate goal-line handball that denied Ghana a famous Victory.
Defender Jorge ciro fucile is also suspended while skipper Diego Lugano and midfielder Nicolas Lodeiro are injury doubts, heaping even more pressure on Diego Forlan.
In the Dutch camp, Defender Gregory van der Wiel and midfielder Nigel de Jong miss out after picking up their second yellow cared against Brazil. But everyone else is fit, with Arjen Robben and Wesley Sneijder the danger men.