Slovakia played extremely well to reach the round of 16 but was unable to get past the Netherlands on Monday. The Dutch played an extremely attacking game and were in complete control of the match.

The Dutch took the lead in the first half when Arjen Robben put in a brilliant solo run and then struck a powerful shot to give the Dutch a 1-0 lead. Robben who has been recovering from an injury has been extremely well nursed by Dutch coach Bert van Marwijk. This was the first game in which he decided to play Robben in the starting eleven.

His goal gave the Dutch an early lead and the Slovakians were always playing catch up. Slovakia’s volatile coach Vladimir Weiss called Arjen Robben a genius and told reporters after the match that “We prepared for three days for Robben, but he's an absolute genius. He knows exactly what he's doing, that's why he's played for all those great clubs. When I saw his name on the team startlist I knew it made the Netherlands 50 percent stronger”.

In the second half, the Dutch scored their second goal through Sneijder and it looked like they would finish the match with a 2-0 lead. Just a minute before the game could finish, the Dutch goalkeeper was given a yellow card and the Slovaks were given a penalty shot.

Robert Vittek scored for the Slovaks to give them a consolation goal and the referee immediately called time and the final score finished on 2-1. The Slovaks will be disappointed that they could not go through to the quarterfinals but they must be commended for their efforts throughout this tournament.

Weiss was full of praise for his squad. He said “The Netherlands were great opponents. My players showed great heart and courage, and good football against Italy and the Dutch. With a bit of luck we could have been in it. The penalty will make us feel a little better on the flight home, but the one who advances is the better team”.

Bert van Marwijk was extremely happy that his star performer Robben was fit and in good form. He said “It was important that he played for 70 minutes and I think for him he has just passed that fear factor having recently returned from injury.”

Marwijk was confident that his squad could win against Brazil in their quarter final match. He went on to say that “In all of the matches we have played so far, we have shown that we can control a match and we have been able to show how good we play.”