NETHERLANDS 4-1 GHANA, Rotterdam 01/06/10
Kuyt 30, Van Der Vaart 72, Sneijder 80, Van Persie 87 (pen); Gyan 78

The Netherlands overcame a late scare from Ghana as they eventually won 4-1 to defend the title, and bring the UFWC title one step closer to a FIFA World Cup appearance.

The Netherlands started brightly as shots rained in on the Ghana goal, but an effective goalkeeper/defence combination kept the gain scoreless. The Black Stars gradually began to get into the game, but rarely threatened as the Netherlands maintained the majority of the possession.

The Netherlands were rewarded for their efforts when Dirk Kuyt found the back of the net in the 30th minute, as the Netherlands cruised into half time in a relatively comfortable position.

The second half was a mostly calm affair, as only 4 efforts were made in the first 25 minutes of the half. However that would not last. A goal from Rafael Van Der Vaart in the 72nd minute should have put the match to bed, but the African debutantes didn’t seem to get the hint.

A goal from substitute Asamoah Gyan in the 78th minute gave Ghana a glimmer of hope, and people began thinking that an upset could be on the cards. However those hopes were quickly extinguished, as a goal from Wesley Sneijder only two minutes later restored the home teams two-goal advantage. A Van Persie penalty in the 87th was the icing on the cake of a solid performance for the Netherlands.

This win now puts the Netherlands ahead of Russia in the UFWC all-time rankings, and extends an already remarkable reign as champions, as the number of title defences in this reign extends to 14.

The Netherlands’ final title defence before the FIFA World Cup will be a match against Hungary on June 5th, which we will preview for you tomorrow.

Match Reports ghana, Netherlands

NETHERLANDS vs GHANA, Rotterdam, 01/06/10

The next step for the UFWC en route to the FIFA World Cup sees the defending champions Netherlands square up against UFWC debutantes, Ghana.

The Netherlands have been immensely successful in their reign as UFWC Champions, having earned the title in November 2008 and defended it 13 times in a little over 18 months, retaining the title against formidable opponents such as England, Italy and Mexico. While the Netherlands will be aiming to defend the title and hopefully end up bringing the UFWC title to the World Cup, they will also be hoping for a win to take them above Russia in the all-time UFWC Rankings. Dutch coach Bert van Marwijk today announced their final 23-man squad for the World Cup, so they will be working on fine-tuning the best squad possible.

Ghana unfortunately do not have that luxury, having not played an international match since March. As a result, the Black Stars will likely name an experimental side for this match, and have the misfortune of having Michael Essien unavailable due to injury. This will be Ghana’s first ever match in the UFWC, and they will be hoping to emulate Nigeria, Angola and Zimbabwe, as they endeavour to become only the fourth African side to claim the UFWC title. They, like the Netherlands, have qualified for the World Cup, meaning that this match will tell us nothing as to whether the UFWC title will be brought to the World Cup or not.

Both the Netherlands and Ghana have one more friendly match to play after they face each other, against Hungary and Latvia, neither of whom have qualified for the World Cup. So the question is, who will be the team to try to take the UFWC title to the World Cup, and will they succed or falll at the final hurdle? Hopefully things will become clearer as the World Cup comes nearer…

The odds on who will be champions after this match are:
Netherlands: 1/25
Ghana: 17/2

Match Previews ghana, Netherlands