Favourites square up in Amsterdam

Should Holland only draw with France, Holland would finish second and have to go to Bruges, Belgium, on Sunday and meet the Group C winners.

It will also be a chance for either side to gain a psychological boost ahead of what many are predicting will be a France-Netherlands final on July 2 also in Rotterdam.

Dutch coach Frank Rijkaard, who has midfielder Giovanni van Bronckhorst suspended after getting two yellow cards, is considering resting several of his players already on a caution.

Skipper Frank De Boer, Bert Konterman, Edwin van Der Sar and Michael Reiziger are all on yellow cards and will miss the quarter-final if they are booked in the game against France.

All yellow cards will be eradicated after the group stages however. Asked whether he will rest those players cautioned Rijkaard replied: "It could be a consideration but there is no clear answer to that yet.

"We have four defenders on yellow cards and they are more likely to get booked because they are involved in more challenges and this is a worry for us." Rijkaard also has injury problems with doubts about the fitness of Michael Reiziger, Jaap Stam, Marc Overmars and Clarence Seedorf.

Reiziger is suffering with an ankle injury, Stam has a groin strain, Overmars a sore calf and Seedorf a twisted knee.

On a brighter note, Dutch goalkeeper Edwin Van Der Sar on Sunday said he was fit. The 29-year-old Juventus star injured his left leg in trying to save Michael Schonberg’s 80th minute penalty in the co-hosts 3-0 win over Denmark in Rotterdam on Friday and had to be replaced by Liverpool’s Sander Westerveld.

Rijkaard, asked if the fact that the Dutch will not be as competitive against the French because they have already qualified, said: "The Dutch team always play to win. Against France I will be looking to please everybody with not only a good result but a good performance as well."

France have injury worries however.

Emmanuel Petit, Bixente Lizarazu and David Trezeguet are under treatment after picking up strains but goalkeeper Fabien Barthez has shrugged off a buttock muscle injury. Coach Roger Lemerre has the option of resting injured players against Holland with qualification for the last eight assured.

Team doctor Jean-Marcel Ferrat said on Saturday Lizarazu and Petit would likely be rested as a precautionary measure.

No team has ever won the World Cup and gone on to immediately win the next European championship though Germany did it the other way round in 1972 and 1974. France’s squad has 18 of the players which won the World Cup and have so far in this tournament looked a classy side living up to expectations. However, they have yet to tackle one of the top-ranked sides at this tournament and they are still prone to the occasional defensive blackout that lets an opponent clean through. With the pressure of qualification off for both sides, the players might be relaxed enough to play the kind of football which would fulfill the pre-match hype. (AFP)