Wesley Sneijder: The Key to the Dutch's Success
The Netherlands National Football Team is having an impressive showing in the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. They already booked a seat in the semi-finals and one of the main reasons why they are having a successful stint in the World Cup is the scoring prowess of their midfielder, Wesley Sneijder.
The 26 year-old Dutch footballer, who was also a member of the National Team in the 2006 World Cup in Germany, has already scored four goals in this year’s edition of the biggest tournament in the World of Football.
In their debut game against Denmark, Sneijder failed to score a goal, but he was very instrumental in his team’s 2-0 victory. Scoreless in their first game, he bounced back by converting the lone goal of the match in their 1-0 victory against the Japanese Squad, who were very confident coming into the game after winning their first World Cup match outside their country.
In the Dutch's last game of the preliminary rounds, he seemed to score a goal, but the referees didn’t credit it to him. After the review conducted by the FIFA Technical Study Group, the goal was awarded to Sneijder. The Netherlands won that match against Slovakia, 2-1, to advance in the quarter-finals.
The Dutch Squad, headed by their coach Bert Van Marjwik, went up against Brazil in the quarter-finals. The South American country was heavily-favored prior to the match and they lived up to that lofty billing when Robinho scored an easy goal early in the match giving them the lead until halftime. But Netherlands came out from the dugout on fire and were very determined to tie the game. Sneijder came to the rescue by scoring a goal in the 53rd minute of the match to level the score. The Inter Milan midfielder was not done yet as he scored another goal in the 68th minute to give the Netherlands a 2-1 advantage. Their defence also stepped up and prevented the Brazilians from scoring another goal, giving them an upset win to book a seat in the semi-finals.
Sneijder will be a vital part of the Netherlands in their semi-finals clash with Uruguay. He has already scored four goals in this year’s World Cup and is trailing Spain’s David Villa, who has 5 goals this year, in the race for the Golden Boot Award. But Sneijder is definitely not thinking about that individual award. What he wants right now is the championship trophy for the Netherlands.
The Dutch National Team is already on their 8th World Cup appearance but they haven’t won a World Cup title yet. However, they were able to reach the finals in the 1974 and 1978 edition of the World Cup, but they failed to secure the victory after finishing as the runners-up.
This year, they have a great chance to enter the finals once again, especially if Sneijder continues to display his terrific plays inside the field. He needs to look to score a goal, but he should also create scoring opportunities for his teammates.
Prior to the World Cup, Sneijder was not expected to carry the scoring loads for the Netherlands because he is known more for his supreme passing ability. The good thing is Robin Van Persie will be with his team after being doubtful because of an elbow injury. Persie and Sneijder, together with Arjen Robben, will be posing a lot of headaches for Uruguay in their semi-finals match.
If Sneijder continues to play very well, like how he did in the quarter-finals, the Netherlands will definitely win the match and march on to the penultimate stage of the tournament. Sneijder will be the main barometer of the Dutch's success and he’s definitely a player to watch for in the semis.
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