(AFP) Saturday 26 May 2012
The Netherlands build-up to the UEFA EURO 2012 suffered another setback on Saturday when Bulgaria won their friendly match 2-1, with the defeat coming just four days after losing 3-2 to Bayern Munich.
Robin van Persie had given the Dutch, one of the favourites for the title at EURO 2012 which starts on 8 June, a 45th-minute lead. But Bulgaria,
who didn't qualify for the tournament, levelled four minutes into the
second half with an Ivelin Popov penalty after a handball by Rafael van
der Vaart.
Striker Iliyan Mitsanski hit
the winner in the second minute of injury time on a counter-attack.
Dutch fans were so frustrated by Bert van Marwijk's team that they were
jeered off at the final whistle.
The
result also failed to resolve the coach's dilemma over whether to start
with Arsenal star Van Persie as the lone striker or call in Schalke
forward Klaas-Jan Huntelaar. Van Marwijk also has problems at left back
with 18-year-old Jetro Willems, who has only played 20 times in the
Dutch first division, handed a debut on Saturday.
The Netherlands are in Group B at EURO 2012 along with Denmark, Germany and Portugal.
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