Adrian Mutu, histrionics at missing the penalty against Italy aside, is beginning to emerge in this tournament as a true threat, and one which the Dutch would do well to watch closely. Probing the inside left channel, as his Castrol Index heat map shows, he could exploit a probably weakened (read rested) Netherlands defence. That Romania have only had five shots in their first two matches is a moot point. Mutu has had four of them, and must surely find his (long) range soon, so look out for him peppering the Dutch keeper from the edge of the box, although in the outstanding form that he has been in so far – if playing – Van der Sar should swallow these right up.

The Dutch are proving that having no fear and going all out for victory even if the opponents are World Champions or World Cup runners up is the best policy to take in the Group Of Death – or any tournament where you only have three games in which to prove yourselves. Scoring seven goals in their first two matches, the Netherlands have got the highest shot conversion rate of all the teams so far, standing currently at 25%. That’s 28 shots in two games, compared to Romania’s 5, and considering the Dutch have played France and Italy, that’s not bad going. An albeit weakened side tonight might well have a concerted effort at destroying Romania, safe in the knowledge that they are already group champions and being caught on the break is of no importance.

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