Players afraid to take risks, says Advocaat

NETHERLANDS coach Dick Advocaat has criticised his team for their lethargic approach during the first half of last night’s 1-1 draw with Germany.

“We played much too slowly. We played without taking any risks and it was only after half-time that we dared to push on and take more risks,” he said.

The tactic paid off when Ruud van Nistelrooy hooked home a late equaliser to cancel out Torsten Frings’ first-half free-kick.

“The players should have shown more,” Advocaat said. “Just knocking the ball around is not good enough for a Dutch international. That is something I can help the team improve on.”

Clarence Seedorf, who missed the match, came through a training session. He had been suffering with a hamstring injury but is now in contention for the Netherlands’ second Group D game against Czech Republic on Saturday.