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Van Basten hails Dutch masters after French toasting

14/06/2008

Netherlands head coach Marco van Basten expressed his delight with his players after their commanding performance against World Cup finalists France.

The Dutch put on a masterclass in free-flowing football, running out comfortable 4-1 winners against Raymond Domenech's side.

Goals from Dirk Kuyt, Robin van Persie, Arjen Robben and Wesley Sneijder sealed the victory, and with it top spot in the Euro 2008 'group of death' with one match to spare.

And Van Basten, who also watched his side dismantle World Cup winners Italy 3-0 on Monday night, admitted he was delighted with his team's early form in the tournament.

"We are very happy. We have beaten the world champions and the World Cup finalists in the same week," he said.

However, Van Basten was cautious about heaping too much praise on his young side.

"We started well but then we were too passive under French pressure towards the end of the first half," he added.

Dutch striker Ruud van Nistelrooy, who played an integral part in the victory even without getting on the scoresheet, admitted the team are "still trying to get our heads around" their excellent start.

"We couldn't expect this as we didn't have the best of form before the tournament," the Real Madrid man explained.

"Now it seems everything is falling into place - confidence is there, the team spirit is good and these things lift the team and make a lot of difference."