By Erwin Wong/Red Sports
South Africa, Monday, June 28, 2010 — Arjen Robben had an impactful return to the Dutch starting lineup as Holland beat Slovakia 2-1 in a round of 16 match.
The Bayern Munich player had been hampered by a hamstring injury sustained in a pre-tournament friendly match, and only made his 2010 World Cup debut as a substitute in the previous match against Cameroon.
He was deemed fit enough to start this tie against surprise Group F qualifiers Slovakia, and made his mark in the best possible way after only 18 minutes.
A long, searching ball out of defence by Wesley Sneijder found Robben galloping down the right channel, where he displaced Rafael Van Der Vaart in the starting 11. Robben cut inside two defenders before unleashing a grounder past the Slovakian keeper Jan Mucha, who was beaten at his near post.
The second half was markedly livelier than the first, and the Dutch side could have put the game to bed seven minutes after the resumption. Robben was once again in the thick of things as his shot was brilliantly turned around the post by Mucha, and a Van Persie shot from Robben’s pass a minute later was stopped at point-blank range only by the keeper’s face.
Robert Vittek, Slovakia’s leading scorer at this year’s World Cup with three goals, then broke clear on 67 minutes for a one-on-one opportunity with Holland’s goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg, but could only smash his shot straight at him.
Robben was pulled off three minutes later, and six minutes from time, his teammates got the two-goal cushion which sealed their passage to the quarter-finals, aided in no small part by the Slovakian keeper.
‘Much Ado About Nothing’ is a 16th century comedy written by William Shakespeare, and ‘Mucha did nothing’ probably best describes what course of action the Slovakian keeper took with a long Holland free-kick into the penalty box. Mucha wandered out but totally missed the ball, leaving Dirk Kuyt with all the time and space in the world to square the ball for Sneijder to tuck home his second goal in the competition.
Vittek was brought down by Stekelenburg deep into injury time, and with literally the last kick of the match, the Slovakian striker scored from the spot to bring him level with Argentina’s Gonzalo Higuain at the top of the goal-scoring charts with four.
The 2-1 victory brought the Netherlands into their third quarter-finals in their last four World Cup appearances, and will play the winner of the Brazil and Chile tie.
Slovakia will return home with their 3-2 first round win over Italy the obvious highlight in a campaign where they have played above themselves. That win against the defending champions was only the fourth first round defeat in 11 World Cups for the Italians.
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Guardian.co.uk: Arjen Robben steers Holland past limp Slovakia
Game photos
2010 FIFA World Cup Round of 16 Fixtures
| SGP DATE/DAY | SGP TIME | COUNTRY A | COUNTRY B | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 26, Sat | 10pm | Uruguay  | 2 | South Korea  | 1 |
| Jun 27, Sun | 2.30am | USA  | 1 | Ghana  | 2 |
| Jun 27, Sun | 10pm | Germany  | 4 | England  | 1 |
| Jun 28, Mon | 2.30am | Argentina  | 3 | Mexico  | 1 |
| Jun 28, Mon | 10pm | Holland  | 2 | Slovakia  | 1 |
| Jun 29, Tue | 2.30am | Brazil  | 3 | Chile  | 0 |
| Jun 29, Tue | 10pm | Paraguay  | 0 (5) | Japan  | 0 (3) |
| Jun 30, Wed | 2.30am | Spain  | 1 | Portugal  | 0 |
For the World Cup fixtures list with Singapore broadcast timings as well as group tables and the list of CCs with free screenings, go to: http://redsports.sg/2010-world-cup-fixtures-groups/
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