Van Nistelrooy set for Holland reprieve

Ruud van Nistelrooy has accepted Marco van Basten’s complaint that he is not doing enough to justify his place in the Holland starting line-up.

Van Basten refused to reveal whether Van Nistelrooy would be in his side to face Portugal in the first knockout round clash, although the indications are the Manchester United man will be given one last chance to prove he is capable of leading the Dutch attack.

Although Van Nistelrooy has scored in the competition, and bagged two goals in three warm-up matches, Van Basten does not believe the 29-year-old has been contributing enough to the overall team effort.

The pair had a heart-to-heart after training on Thursday, where Van Nistelrooy took Van Basten’s criticisms on board and vowed to redouble his efforts in the future.

“We had a chat on Thursday,” said Van Basten.

“I put my side and Ruud put his. We spoke about football and the expectations I have of him.

“He agreed with what I said and said he would do everything he could to make sure he did well in future games.”