By Nicholas Rigillo Jun 17, 2006, 17:03 GMT
Freiburg, Germany - Yellow-card headaches loomed for the Dutch team Saturday ahead of their Group C clash with Argentina, while injured Phillip Cocu and Johnny Heitinga skipped training.
Veteran midfielder Cocu was rested as a precaution ahead of Wednesday's match, while the young central defender was recovering from a thigh injury incurred during a 2-1 victory over Ivory Coast in Stuttgart on Friday.
The win, the second in two games, guaranteed the Dutch a place in the round of 16 - and was followed by their first night with their partners since the team's arrival in Germany.
'There's nothing serious with Cocu, while we still have to wait and see whether Heitinga will be able to play in the next match,' a Dutch team official said.
The 22-year-old defender was replaced halfway through Friday's game by Khalid Bouhlarouz.
'I felt a pain in the thigh muscle which I hope will not be too serious,' the Ajax star told reporters after the match.
'I was in too much pain, so I asked to be replaced. But I hope to be fit again for the match against Argentina,' said the player, whom many see as the new Jaap Stam.
Injuries aside, the biggest worry in the Dutch camp concerns the team's high number of bookings.
Six Dutch players have been shown yellow cards during Holland's first two matches. These include two-time man of the match Arjen Robben and three regular defenders: Joris Mathijsen, Heitinga and Giovanni van Bronckhorst. Bouhlarouz and midfielder Mark van Bommel also have yellow cards.
Coach Marco van Basten has said he badly wants to win Wednesday's game against Argentina as victory would see his side end at the top of the so-called Group of Death.
But it remained unclear Saturday whether van Basten would opt to throw caution to the wind come Wednesday - or rest some of his booked players to protect them from a second yellow card and an automatic suspension in the following match.
Van Bronckhorst said Saturday he hoped to play against Argentina.
'If it was up to me, I would certainly want to play against Argentina, because it's not that often that you get to play against one of the best teams in the world,' van Bronckhorst told reporters.
'But we have a total of six players who have been cautioned, so I would certainly understand van Basten if he were to decide that these players shouldn't play on Wednesday,' the Barcelona defender said.
Should he play on Wednesday, van Bronckhorst would likely meet his Barcelona team-mate Lionel Messi.
And the Dutch looked in a buoyant mood during training Saturday, a day after spending their first night with their partners since their arrival in Germany.
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