Van Marwijk backs Van Persie to inspire Dutch World Cup glory
Published:Holland coach Bert van Marwijk has backed Robin Van Persie to fire the Oranje to World Cup glory against Spain.
Arsenal ace Van Persie has scored just one goal from his six matches in South Africa to date, but he is 7/1 to open the scoring on Sunday.
The 26-year-old, who has been deployed in a lone-forward role, has not had the impact that many expected of him in South Africa, but Van Marwijk believes he will come good against Spain.
“Robin has really improved during the last few matches and I still have a lot of confidence in him. He will show his best football in the coming match,” said Van Marwijk.
Van Persie has also won support from team-mate Dirk Kuyt (9/1 to score first against Spain), who insists the forward is playing an important role for the side.
“Robin is a quality player, and one thing he does is work really hard. He is a team player,” Kuyt said.
The Liverpool striker added: “It is difficult to create chances. People expected him to score five or six goals. He hasn’t done that, but the way he is playing, he is still very important for us.”
While Van Persie may not be topping the goalscoring charts himself, his runs drag opposition defenders out of position and create space for his Dutch team-mates.
Having scored four goals, Wesley Sneijder is a player who has benefited from the space afforded to him by Van Persie’s intelligent movement, and the Inter Milan midfielder is 3/1 to win the Golden Shoe.
Can Van Persie inspire Holland to World Cup glory? They are 5/2 to beat Spain. See the full Holland vs Spain market.
