Van Marwijk: "We will have to do better"

Saturday, 19 June 2010

Netherlands - Japan 1-0

Bert van Marwijk thanking Wesley Sneijder as the goal scorer is substituted

Bert van Marwijk wasn't as relieved as he was after the game against Denmark, but still it was clear that he was very happy with the three points.

"But that's only natural. Everyone expects you to just beat Japan, but to be honest, you can't say we played an easy game. Japan showed a lot of respect, but they didn't put us under pressure from the first second. Then you have to be very patient. These are the moments that you want your team to remain alert. Just one slip can give away the game," Van Marwijk said.

The Dutch coach was happy with the result, yet he though they could have added a goal. "Towards the end we were through twice. Apart from that there weren't that many chances on either side."

Van Marwijk too thought his team played a bit better in the second half. "Sometimes we have to play a bit more opportunistic. The second half was better than the first. We were more in control. I'm happy we've won, I'm satisfied, but we can do much better, and we will have to do better! But then again, these are tricky games, we played two and have six points, so we're happy."

Van Marwijk clearly wasn't worried about the fact it wasn't all that stylish what Holland have shown so far. "But that's a typical Dutch thing to say. Other countries look different at their victories. We look at it more critical. Ask people in other countries how they think about us ... we have six points. That's what matters."

Cards
36' G. van der Wiel