De Jong jaded after watching brief

NIGEL DE JONG sweated his way through the hardest game of his career on Tuesday night – and he was not even playing.

De Jong was a helpless spectator in Cape Town, having been ruled out of the Netherlands’ World Cup semi-final with Uruguay through suspension.

Thankfully for the Man City star, the Dutch emerged triumphant thanks to second-half goals from Wesley Sneijder and Arjen Robben, and he can now look forward to the game of his life at Soccer City on Sunday.