Dutch fear for a 'lost generation'
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Van Nistelrooy failed to find the net in the first leg.
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EURO 2004 PLAYOFFS
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• Second legs on Wednesday
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| EURO 2004 QUALIFIERS |
Portugal (hosts), France, Denmark, Czech Republic, Sweden, Germany, Greece, England, Bulgaria, Italy, Switzerland.
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AMSTERDAM, Netherlands -- The Dutch go into the second leg of their Euro 2004 playoff with Scotland in danger of becoming a "lost generation", according to Oranje legend Johan Cruyff.
The current side, considered one of world's most talented, are in danger of missing out on their second straight major tournament, after suffering a shock 1-0 defeat in Glasgow.
Dutch coach Dick Advocaat has said he will quit if his side fail to qualify for next summer's finals in Portugal.
Striker Ruud van Nistelrooy admitted the squad was feeling the pressure.
"We need to make sure we take it and use it in a positive way," said the Manchester United star.
"Our whole country wants us to go to Portugal. We want to go."
In a further indication of the pressure the Dutch are under, midfielder Andy van der Meyde, one of the Netherlands' better performers in the first leg, collapsed on Monday during an interview, banging his head.
The Dutch Football Association said he would be fit for Wednesday's second leg in Amsterdam.
Advocaat has already called up PSV Eindhoven pair Wilfred Bouma and Arjen Robben as cover for suspended defender Jaap Stam and captain Frank De Boer, who has a thigh injury.
The Dutch missed out on an automatic berth at Euro 2004 when they lost to group winners Czech Republic in a crucial qualifier.
For Oranje fans that triggered flashbacks to 2001, when their side failed to clinch a place at the 2002 World Cup.
Fireworks
Ruud Gullit, who captained the Netherlands to victory at the European championship in 1988, described the Dutch performance in Scotland as "indifferent" and said they deserved to lose.
"I expect fireworks on Wednesday," said Gullit, who now coaches the Dutch youth team.
Much of the speculation over team selection has focused on whether Advocaat will stick with his Saturday strike partnership of van Nistelrooy and Barcelona's Patrick Kluivert.
The pair have clashed off the pitch in the past, but their failure to spark on it has led to calls for Roy Makaay of Bayern Munich or Fenerbahce veteran Pierre van Hooijdonk to be given a starting role.
"We've talked so long about the strikers, but we need to focus on the whole team," said van Nistelrooy.
Scotland travel to Amsterdam basking in the glory of their first win over the Dutch since the 1978 World Cup and with high hopes of pulling off an upset that few of their supporters believed possible.
"We're very relaxed," said German coach Berti Vogts, often a target for fierce criticism.
"The only country that can lose is the Netherlands."
