| Wys³any: 2019-04-16 03:40:09 Temat postu: Portugal and the United States in Group G ROTTERDAM, Netherlands -- Robin van Persie scored his second goal in as many pre-World Cup friendlies as the Netherlands beat Ghana 1-0 on Saturday. On the day Louis van Gaal announced his final 23-man squad for Brazil, the Netherlands coach looked to have picked his strongest side for the match at Feyenoords De Kuip stadium, with the vastly experienced striking partnership of Van Persie and Arjen Robben fed by playmaker Wesley Sneijder. It was that trio who teamed up to unlock the Ghana defence in just the fifth minute. Sneijder played a one-two with Robben and then cut back the ball past the advancing goalkeeper to Van Persie who only had to tap into the open goal for his 43rd international goal. Robben should have doubled the lead seven minutes later but scuffed a close-range shot over the bar after a cross from left back Daley Blind set him free in front of goal at the end of a flowing attack. The Bayern Munich winger squandered another great chance when goalkeeper Adam Kwarasey blocked his shot when Robben was again on his own in front of goal after a cross from right back Daryl Janmaat. "I should have scored two. Im saving them up," Robben said. Both final passes came from backs functioning almost as wingers in Van Gaals new 5-3-2 formation. The defenders -- seen by many as the teams Achilles heel -- also ensured Jasper Cillessen kept a clean sheet. "In the second half, we created less but we gave away absolutely nothing," Van Gaal said. Ghana, which has a tough draw in Brazil together with Germany, Portugal and the United States in Group G, never looked like breaking down the Dutch back five. Coach James Kwesi Appiahs team stayed in the game thanks to Robbens misses and aggressive tackling and pressure that broke up the fluency of Dutch build-up play. "Ghana pinned us back and that makes it difficult," Van Gaal said. But he expects the attacking fluency to come as the squad continues to train together. "It will get better," Van Gaal said. "Weve only just started." The Netherlands plays Wales on Wednesday in Amsterdam and flies to Rio de Janeiro the following day. It is in Group B with Spain, Chile and Australia. Cheap Soccer Jerseys .A. remained bitter for Henrik Lundqvist and the Rangers on the long flight back home to New York. Cheap Soccer World Cup Jerseys 2018 . The 57-year-old Tietjens has coached New Zealand to nine IRB World Sevens titles and to four Commonwealth Games gold medals as its only coach in the professional era. New Zealand Rugby Union chief executive Steve Tew said the re-signing was made with a focus on 2016 when sevens will be in the Olympics. http://www.cheapworldcupjerseysauthentic.com/ .C. - Heat coach Erik Spoelstra says Danny Granger, Chris Andersen and Udonis Haslem are still not ready to play and will miss Wednesday nights game against the Charlotte Hornets. 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Wilson, a right-hander and the 2010 majors saves leader while with San Francisco, joined the NL West champion Dodgers last season after a second Tommy John elbow ligament replacement surgery. He missed almost the entire 2012 season when the Giants won their second World Series in three years. Wilson immediately fit in well with his former teams archrival. Getting a fresh start, he went 2-1 with a 0.66 ERA in 18 outings over 13 2-3 innings this year for Los Angeles. He became a reliable option out of the bullpen for manager Don Mattingly once the right-hander returned from the lengthy elbow rehab. Wilson chose to join the Dodgers when the Giants declined to bring him back in December 2012. Now, he is set to pitch his first full season since 2011. Wilson signed with Los Angeles last July 31 after working out for several clubs at the University of San Francisco -- and that included the Giants, who monitored his recovery each step of the way. He then made four scorelesss appearances during a minor league rehab assignment before the Dodgers activated him Aug.dddddddddddd19. The Giants declined to tender a one-year contract to the closer last December, making him a free agent. Wilson was the 2010 major league saves leader with 48, but made only two appearances for the club in 2011 after experiencing elbow trouble in April. He underwent reconstructive Tommy John surgery on April 19 that year, his second such procedure on his pitching elbow after also having it done while in college at LSU in 2003. Dr. James Andrews performed both operations. Wilson missed the teams run to its second championship in three years. That move with Wilson, who earned $8.5 million during his injury-shortened 2012 season, was hardly unexpected given the uncertainty surrounding when the right-hander might be healthy again and ready to pitch. Wilson has spent his first seven major league seasons with San Francisco after the Giants selected him in the 24th round of the 2003 draft. He got the final out in Game 5 of the 2010 World Series at Texas to clinch the franchises first championship since moving West in 1958. Wilson finished 6-4 with a 3.11 ERA and 36 saves in 57 appearances in 2011, but was held out down the stretch as a precaution. Then he complained of discomfort in the elbow on April 13, 2012, and was sent for an MRI exam. Wilson had thrown 32 pitches at Colorado a day earlier while working on back-to-back days, and had to be checked on once. ' ' ' |