No injury worries for Rijkaard

Holland boss Rijkaard is giving little away

Dutch coach Frank Rijkaard has no significant injury worries ahead of his side's opening match on Sunday against the Czech Republic at the Amsterdam Arena.

Rijkaard stated at a press conference on Thursday that although neither player trained, the fitness of defender Frank de Boer and midfielder Phillipe Cocu was not in doubt.

Arsenal winger Marc Overmars appears to have overcome a minor leg injury, although he still trained separately to the other players.

According to Dutch journalists, Rijkaard remains undecided about players in two positions, with Rangers' Giovanni van Bronckhorst and Boudewijn Zenden figthing for the left back berth and Cocu and Aron Winter vying for a position in central midfield.

All sorts of things can happen between now and Sunday so it's better to wait.

Frank Rijkaard

But the coach is unsurprisingly giving few clues as to what is in his mind.

"All sorts of things can happen between now and Sunday so it's better to wait."

The spine of Rijkaard's side looks very familiar with Edwin Van der Sar in goal and the likes of Michael Reiziger, Jaap Stam, Frank de Boer, Clarence Seedorf, Edgar Davids, Overmars, Arsenal's Dennis Bergkamp and Patrick Kluivert all expected in the line-up.

Famed for their reputation for attractive football, the Dutch have often flattered to deceive in major tournaments.

Clarence Seedorf says Holland are looking for results

For Seedorf, the holder of a Champions League medal, it is time to think about results rather than performances.

"Of course, we would like to play attacking football, but results come first," said the Inter Milan player.

"We have intelligent players who know how to defend but we also have a lot of quality up front and they can be very dangerous."

Careful

Amazingly, Seedorf is still only 24 but has already played in a World Cup as well as Euro 96.

His experience of international football leads him to believe that the Czech Republic will be more cagey than most expect.

"I'm not so sure the Czechs will come to attack us but they are an excellent side who break very quickly so we have to be extremely careful.

"I think they will wait to hit us on the counter attack and they have the players who can hurt you."