Sneijder: "This group is much closer than in 2008"

21 June 2010

According to Wesley Sneijder there is a lot more cohesion in the current squad of the Netherlands than there was at the previous two tournaments. "Back then there was an atmosphere in which everyone would go their own way," Sneijder says. "But now when we have some time off we go and do something with a whole bunch."

Sneijder thinks that difference in contact between the players is crucial for staying in the tournament a long time. "We are prepared to work hard for each other. And I think that is very important at a tournament such as a World Cup."

In an interview with Dutch daily Telegraaf Sneijder said he hopes Arjen Robben will be back soon. "It's up to the manager of course, but I think that Arjen, when he is fit, should always play. He has special qualities, is a real menace and he can decide a game by himself. There's not many of them round," Sneijder said.

The Inter-player thinks Holland have a very strong bench: "When you look at the way Eljero Elia and Ibrahim Afellay come on and you know that Arjen Robben is on his way, as an opponent that wouldn't make me happy."

"I spoke to Robben a few times. He's not yet at 100%, otherwise he would have got some playing time. But he's close and it's more than a week until our game in the round of 16."