Slovakia are unlikely to feel the weight of history when they face the mighty Netherlands on Monday in Durban: the role of underdogs suits the side coached by Vladimir Weiss just fine.
Indeed, Slovakia were not even “supposed” to be in the Round of 16 in their first World Cup finals. A first-round draw would have given defending champions Italy the berth, but the Slovaks won the match to set up the clash with the Netherlands.
And now they want to do it again. Once you’ve sent one giant home, the second one looks easier.
“Perhaps we can also surprise the Dutch,” first-round hero Robert Vittek told the German Press Agency dpa in an interview. “We know they are the favourites but so were Italy.” Slovakia have certainly managed to leave their mark on the tournament. But so have the Netherlands, as one of only two teams to have won all their group-round matches in South Africa, albeit with fairly lacklustre performances.
The Dutch, however, face several setbacks at the Moses Mabhida stadium, including the possible absence of stars Arjen Robben and Robin van Persie.
Robben is fit again but Netherlands coach Bert van Marwijk hinted that he could still start the Bayern Munich winger on the bench.
“It’s very good to have him back, but we are not going to rush it,” he said in the Dutch daily De Telegraaf.
Arsenal striker Van Persie, in turn, had to withdraw from training Saturday with ankle problems. Klaas-Jan Huntelaar will play if Van Persie doesn’t recover on time.
Slovakia, in turn, will be without midfielder Zdeno Strba, who is suspended. But they have little to lose and are likely to play freely.
“It’s like a dream for us,” striker Vittek admitted after beating Italy. “We had faith in our ability. We went into the game thinking that we could cause an upset.” Perhaps if they can keep the faith, the attitude, and the carefree spark, they can do it again.
After all, the Netherlands have won all their games but they have failed to reach the levels of beautiful football that has been their trademark for many decades.
Still, players and coach alike have stressed that they are quite happy with just winning their matches, and that they are not short of ambition. Van Marwijk has made it clear that he and his men are in South Africa “to become world champions”.
“We want to win everything, and I think with this team we can do it,” Rafael van der Vaart stressed.
That drive for victory will clash on Monday with the faith of the Slovaks.
“It’s going to be difficult. They are very strong as a team, especially going forward,” Vittek admitted. “But we have nothing to lose.”
