England vs Holland - 29th February

Stuart Pearce is expected to name an experimental squad today.

England squad:

Goalkeepers: Scott Carson (Bursaspor), Joe Hart (Manchester City), Robert Green (West Ham United).

Defenders: Gary Cahill (Chelsea), Ashley Cole (Chelsea), Leighton Baines (Everton), Glen Johnson (Liverpool), Phil Jones (Manchester United), Micah Richards (Manchester City), Chris Smalling (Manchester United), Kyle Walker (Tottenham Hotspur).

Midfielders: Gareth Barry (Manchester City), Tom Cleverley (Manchester United), Stewart Downing (Liverpool), Adam Johnson (Manchester City), Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), James Milner (Manchester City), Scott Parker (Tottenham Hotspur), Ashley Young (Manchester United), Theo Walcott (Arsenal).

Forwards: Darren Bent (Aston Villa), Fraizer Campbell (Sunderland), Daniel Sturridge (Chelsea), Wayne Rooney (Manchester United), Danny Welbeck (Manchester United).

Any comments on Stuart Pearce's squad?

Its err Capellos squad, nothing new from Pearce. Thought he might have tried different players to stamp his authority

I'm surprised Stuart Downing is in there - He has been useless for Liverpool this season.

I would have gone for Alex Oxlade Chamberlain of Arsenal or even Nathan Dyer from Swansea City.

Its also pretty weird that Fraizer Campbell of Sunderland has been included when he has been out injured for 18 months.

Dutch Squad

Goalkeepers: Maarten Stekelenburg (Roma), Tim Krul (Newcastle United), Michel Vorm (Swansea City)

Defenders: Khalid Boulahrouz (Stuttgart), Jeffrey Bruma (Hamburg), John Heitinga (Everton), Joris Mathijsen (Malaga), Erik Pieters (PSV Eindhoven), Ron Vlaar (Feyenoord)

Midfielders: Mark van Bommel (AC Milan), Urby Emanuelson (AC Milan), Nigel de Jong (Manchester City), Stijn Schaars (Sporting), Wesley Sneijder (Inter Milan), Kevin Strootman (PSV Eindhoven), Rafael van der Vaart (Tottenham Hotspur), Georginio Wijnaldum (PSV Eindhoven)

Forwards: Klaas Jan Huntelaar (Schalke), Ola John (Twente Enschede), Luuk de Jong (Twente), Dirk Kuyt (Liverpool), Luciano Narsingh (Heerenveen), Robin van Persie (Arsenal), Arjen Robben (Bayern Munich)

Both the squads are in then.

Who would you like to see lining up for England against Holland?

I would go for

.........................................Hart............................................

Richards..............Jones.........................Cahill...................Cole

Young......................Parker.............Millner.......................Johnson

.....................................Bent...............Rooney..........................

1. Hart
2. Richards
3. Jones
4. Smalling
5. Walker
6. Young
7. Parker
8. Gerard
9. A. Johnson
10. Rooney
11. Welbeck


Looking at the dutch squad i would be brimming with confidence if i supported england.......

Darren Bent and Wayne Rooney are both out of the friendly against Holland on Wednesday.

I'll have to have a rethink on who I'd play now upfront!

Can we call up Peter Crouch?!

I have never seen such a weak looking Dutch defence - If we can get at them I don't see why we shouldn't win.

Kyle Walker and Tom Cleverly have both also pulled out of this game - Thats 4 now who have dropped out.

Glen Johnson has now pulled out and been replaced by Joleen Lescott.

Let's hope Welbeck doesn't get isolated - it sure looks like he will.

Line ups

England
Hart, Richards, Smalling, Cahill, Baines, Parker, Barry, A Johnson, Young, Gerarrd, Wellbeck

Subs- A. Cole,J. Lescott,J. Milner,S. Carson,R. Green,T. Walcott.D. Sturridge,S. Downing,F. Campbell,P. Jones


Holland
Stekelenburg, Boulahrouz, Heitinga, Mathijsen, Pieters, Van Bommel, N De Jong, Kuyt, Robben, Sneijder, Van Persie

Subs-K. Huntelaar,R. Vlaar,U. Emanuelson.T. Krul,G. Wijnaldum,S. Schaars,K. Strootman,L. de Jong,L. Narsingh,J. Bruma,O. John

Result

England 2-3 Holland
0-1 Robben 57’
0-2 Huntelaar 58’
1-2 Cahill 85’
2-2 Young 90'
2-3 Robben 90'

In my view The Dutch fully deserved their 3-2 victory and Arjen Robben put in a tremendous display tonight.

The first half was pretty even but the Oranje took control of the game with those 2 quick goals in 2 minutes.

England did well to get back into it although Cahill was offside and a draw would have flattered us had it ended 2-2.

There were not really any positives we can take from this display and not one single England player impressed me.

It certainly doesn't look like either Welbeck or Sturridge are good enough at this level at this current moment in time.

If I was a gambling man I would put a few Euros on the Netherlands as outsiders to win this summers tournament.

Any comments on tonights result?

Think we got shown again the gulf in technical ability between us and the rest. The amount of touches needed to control a bloody football is ridiculous, how Barry and Milner are anywhere near midfield is beyond me, Sturridge looked ok for a bit but got found out quickly enough and Wellbeck had no support really, hes got more to offer.
Cahill didnt do too well for the first and Smalling for the second, bit of a shame as id hoped theyd push JT out.
I sincerely hope Wilshere regains fitness and form in time for the euros.

Meh, didn't really expect much out of this game so can't be particularly disappointed. A pretty tedious affair for the most part, lit up by a few pieces of Dutch brilliance and the threat of an England comeback at the end.

Not a particularly good performance by England but they at least showed some character to get back into it when they looked down and out. Only a deflected shot away from earning hugely boosting draw against a strong Holland side.

Can't say anyone particularly impressed though. Sturridge looked the pick of an average bunch, although Parker was his usual committed self and the armband didn't change that. Welbeck was always going to be isolated up front, and that proved to the case. Wasn't impressed by either Johnson or Downing in support.

Didn't think the Dutch were hugely impressive either, but they did show glimpses. When Arjen Robben is in the mood, there isn't really any touching him. Hugely impressed with Huntelaar's very brief cameo, shame he was forced off after that nasty clash of heads.

And is Mark Van Bommel the biggest foul merchant in the history of football? Him and De Jong did a good job of sitting deep and suffocating the midfield, but I struggle to think of a dirtier player than him.

It seems to me, if yesterday´s line up for England is any indication of things to come for England, they might not even make it out of their group at EURO, I feel.

I don't see why everyone is saying it's Cahills fault for the first? Smalling is clearly the culprit, Robben was on his side yet he chooses to go with the run of Huntelaar when Cahill would have had that covered thus allowing a free run on goal. He is an awful defender and only in the squad because he plays for Man Utd, Fulham must be laughing with the amount of money they got for him.

We also miss someone like Wilshere big time! Someone who can pick up the ball and add some flair which we clearly lacked last night, it was the usual pass - pass - pass - no opportunity- pass back to defence etc etc I also feel Pearce just chucked on players for the hell of it instead of having any tactical plan I had no idea where Downing was supposed to be playing not that I noticed him until the 90th minute.

Anyone who says it was Cahill´s fault is as thick as a brick.
Cahill was not even close to him.