Red hot van Nistelrooy forced to sit out Dutch encounter

THE Englishman, the Scotsman and the Welshman provided the punchlines at Old Trafford but the joke may be on the Dutch after next weekend.

Ruud van Nistelrooy was the match winner from the penalty spot against Birmingham but his awesome scoring talents will not be available to Holland on Saturday after he was dropped from the squad by manager Dick Advocaat for a show of anger at being substituted in the last international.

The Dutch face Moldova in the Euro 2004 qualifiers, and though they are already certain to contest the play-offs there is now a large question over what van Nistelrooy’s role will be.