Dutch lucky to escape with nervous and dull display

Netherlands: 1 - F de Boer 89 pen

Czech Republic: 0

Referee: P Collina (Italy)

Booked: Netherlands - Van Bronckhurst, De Boer; Czech Republic - Nedved, Poborsky, Repka. Sent off - Latal (from bench)

With three points and a share of the lead in Group D Frank Rijkaard will surely be glad that everybody has something other than his side's notoriously erratic 17-game programme of post-France '98 friendlies to talk about.

It's not that clearcut, though, for while the Dutch certainly had their moments in what was a fine game at the Amsterdam Arena last night, they still have a lot to prove. .

Against a side for whom the priority was plainly avoiding defeat, they started well but then found themselves dragged into a battle which they didn't really look prepared for. The clash of styles didn't help but the suspicion is that a better team than the Czechs - and there are several of them knocking around - would have beaten the hosts on this occasion.

In short Rijkaard has a great deal to be grateful to Jiri Nemec for this morning. Without the vastly experienced midfielder's tug on Ronald De Boer 90 seconds from time and his brother Frank's clinical finish from the penalty spot moments later the build up to Friday's second group match against Denmark in Rotterdam might have been distinctly uncomfortable for the local coach. Instead, a draw against the Danes will probably be enough for a place in the last eight with anything better pretty much guaranteeing progression.

Though it was to be expected in front of so many of their own supporters, they took up the running early on, poking and prodding at the Czech defence from all angles and almost breaking them down once or twice thanks to Bourdewijn Zenden's darting runs from out wide on the left.

Reverting to what was once his regular role in attack, while Marc Overmars looked on from the bench, the Barcelona full-back gave his marker, Radoslav Latal, the sort of evening that the 30-year-old would probably prefer to forget. Although it could have been worse for the Schalke man after 17 minutes when Pavel Srnicek recovered quickly from saving Patrick Kluivert's shot to block Zenden's follow up. However, Latal's misery was completed when he was given a red card while sitting on the bench.

Kluivert and company managed to test the Sheffield Wednesday goalkeeper just once more during a half which became a far more even contest on the half hour. It was a terribly poor return on so much possession and when Frank De Boer's inability to cope with the sheer height of Jan Koller started to cause concern in the run up to the break, even they must have feared they were going to be made pay for it.

Koller was a handful to be sure and backed up by Pavel Nedved, he played a key role as the Czechs steadily hustled their way into the game and established themselves as a serious threat.

The Anderlecht striker was the target for everything that the beaten finalists four years ago threw goalwards and having drawn one really fine stop from Edwin Van Der Sar early in the second period he then left the 29-year-old goalkeeper completely stranded with a flicked-on header that came back off the crossbar.

If he was good then Nedved was much better. Having initially started the game in central midfield the Lazio midfielder first switched with Karel Poborsky to play out wide on the right and then roamed widely, popping up in defence or attack.

Like the Dutch, however, Nedved's team-mates couldn't turn their best spell of the game into something more tangible and, by replacing his fading wide men with Ronald De Boer and Overmars, Rijkaard instilled new life into his own side's search for a goal.

Ronald De Boer made an immediate impact, going very close when he met Dennis Bergkamp's cross from the left with a powerful strike but after that the chances that came his way were few and so, when he was forced to line up an overhead volley from Overmars' centre from a similar position 90 seconds from time the suspicion had to be that he would miss again. Unfortunately for Josef Chovanec's side Nemec intervened to concede the penalty.