Louis van Gaal will decide today if his captain Robin Van Persie is fit to face Argentina after admitting the striker is struggling with an upset stomach.
Van Persie has been instrumental in the Netherlands’ run to the last four of the tournament, but had to train separately from his teammates yesterday after complaining of a stomach problem.
Coach van Gaal confirmed on the eve of the game in Sao Paulo that his star striker, who has scored three goals in Brazil, is a serious doubt for the last-four clash.
“He has a stomach problem, an intestinal problem. I don’t know (if he will play),” van Gaal said. “I will decide (on Wednesday). Van Persie is our captain so he is very important to us. In principle my captain always plays, but he has to be fit.”
There was some good news for the Dutch coach yesterday as injury doubts Ron Vlaar and Leroy Fer took part in training.
In an interesting development, midfielder Nigel de Jong was also involved even though he had been expected to miss the rest of the World Cup after suffering a groin injury in the group stage win over Mexico.
“If his reaction is good and he can play, then the miracle can come true,” van Gaal said.
But even if De Jong makes a shock return to the XI for the Argentina match, it will mean nothing if Van Persie is ruled out.
Holland have relied heavily on the Manchester United striker, and fellow star Arjen Robben. Both players scored in the penalty shootout win over Costa Rica which sent the Dutch through to their second successive World Cup semi-final.
That match was a draining affair as the Netherlands battered the Costa Rica goal, but they could not beat Keylor Navas inside 120 minutes. Van Gaal thinks his players will have recovered their fitness by the time they face Argentina.
“In general I give the players two days to recover, so if you have one day less it’s an issue, a problem,” van Gaal added. “But a top athlete can perform so my players will be in shape.”
In terms of the opposition, van Gaal is mindful of the threat posed by Lionel Messi but has said his team will need to do more than simply muzzle Argentina’s superstar forward.
With four goals and some showstopping displays to his name, Messi is emerging as the potential player of the tournament, but van Gaal says that it would be dangerous to expend too much energy worrying about him.
“We are playing against Argentina,” he said. “We’re preparing a strategy for a team, not individual players, so I’ll be ready for Argentina and their players.
“Messi has been elected the best player in the world. There’s a reason for that. If you score so many goals, you have an added value.
“But on the most important stage, he hasn’t always pulled it off. He’s always found it difficult to do that at international level and he wants to change that at this tournament. We want to stop him, so that’s going to be quite a challenge.”
While two-time winners Argentina are bidding to reach their first final since 1990, the Dutch are aiming to appear in the deciding match for the second time in a row, having lost 1-0 to Spain in the 2010 final.
Both teams won all three of their group matches before each pulling off a pair of narrow wins in the knockout stage, and van Gaal says that there is little between them.
“I don’t think there’s a favourite,” said the 62-year-old, who will take over as manager of Manchester United after the tournament.
“In the semi-finals, the countries are at the same level.
“The results have reflected that in the quarter-finals and the last 16, so I’d say it’ll be a 50-50 match.
“We’ll need a bit of luck. The coin has to fall your way.”
