Euro 2004 play-offs/second leg: The Dutch were ranting after alleged raving last night, but Scotland's preparations for their biggest game in four years have taken place in a pocket of calm amid the storm.

"We are very close to making history now," admitted Berti Vogts. "We are on the brink of something amazing."

So it has come to this. An unlikely victory at Hampden Park on Saturday has earned the Scots a precious lead to defend at the Amsterdam ArenA tonight, with the prospect of a first major finals since France '98 looming improbably large.

The Dutch squad's propensity to self-destruct has added to the intrigue. With relations between the players and their coach, Dick Advocaat, fractious at best, the impact of the allegations published in the daily Het Parool - strongly denied by the Dutch Football Association last night - has shaken the locals as much as the defeat in Glasgow.

The Dutch newspaper claimed yesterday it had photographs to prove senior players, most notably the striker Patrick Kluivert and Ajax's attacking midfielder Rafael van der Vaart, spent Saturday night at a rave.

"Sometimes it's good for the boys and good for team spirit to have a night out, and they're professionals after all," offered Vogts publicly, though privately the belief remains that rave reviews are playing into Scottish hands.

Regardless, the Scots remain braced for an orange backlash. "This is a big chance," said Vogts. "The Dutch players will go back to Ajax, Manchester United, Juventus and other massive clubs with Champions League football coming up next week. They play huge games all the time. But this is an opportunity for my boys to go to the Algarve.

"It would have been good for us to have drawn the first match or even to have won it 2-1, but a 1-0 win? That was perfect. My boys will play with power and emotion, but the pressure is all on the Dutch. If I was in Dick Advocaat's position, I'd feel nervous. It's a must-win game for them. If it's 0-0 after 20 minutes they'll probably have the supporters on their backs."

Those early exchanges are likely to prove pivotal. Scotland were subjected to intense pressure from the moment James McFadden's 22nd-minute shot looped up off Frank de Boer and over a stranded Edwin van der Sar on Saturday, their inexperienced defence creaking under the second-half onslaught but emerging unscathed. That was the first time in 20 internationals that the Dutch had failed to score.

Scotland, though without the suspended defender Christian Dailly, are equipped and pumped to survive. "We have to prevent them doing what they did in the second half, which means pressing them harder in midfield," said the German, who is likely to choose between Dundee's Gavin Rae, who has not played in three weeks after a persistent groin injury, and Preston's Graham Alexander to deputise for Dailly. "We played too deep once we'd scored and invited them on to us, but we know how to prevent that again.

"And we must score. I'm certain of that. The first 30 minutes is always important, especially in international football, and we'll be looking for an early goal. Then we will have a big, big chance and the door will be wide open for Portugal."

Paul Dickov, outstanding as a workaholic forward and described rather mystifyingly by Vogts as "my running elk" yesterday, will have recovered from his exertions at Hampden Park to resume running duties tonight.

Yet the outcome of this contest will boil down as much to whether the Dutch can overcome internal discord and revive themselves as to Scotland's ability to dig in. The press in Amsterdam carried full-page pictures of Vogts holding aloft the 1974 World Cup in Munich, defeated and dejected Holland players milling around in the background, under the headline: "Do you want this to happen again?"

PROBABLE LINE-UPS

HOLLAND (4-2-3-1, probable): Van der Sar; Reiziger, Ooijer, De Boer, Bouma; Cocu, Sneijder; Van der Meyde, Van der Vaart, Overmars; Van Nistelrooy.

SCOTLAND (4-1-3-2): Douglas; McNamara (both Celtic), Wilkie (Dundee), Pressley (Hearts), Naysmith (Everton); Rae (Dundee); Fletcher (Man Utd), Ferguson (Blackburn), McCann (Southampton); McFadden (Everton), Dickov (Leicester).

Referee: L Michel (Slovakia)

Guardian Service