Dutch believe as penalties hex ends

HOLLAND'S success in a penalty shoot-out was enough to convince the Orange army that the European Championship trophy of 2004 will travel by barge through the picturesque canals of Amsterdam next week.

Holland beat Sweden 5-4 on penalties after 120 scoreless minutes in Faro in the quarter-final to end an excruciating sequence of eliminations at the semi-final stages of three major championships through the harsh penalty contest routine.

They lost to Denmark in Euro 92, to Italy in Euro 2000 and were eliminated by Brazil from the World Cup semi-final in France in 1998. Little wonder they were accused of lacking 'bottle'.