Amsterdam: Louis van Gaal insists his Holland side’s preparations for their opening World Cup clash with Spain are firmly on course. The Dutch boss, who will become the new Manchester United boss following the finals in Brazil, saw his men beat Ghana 1-0 in their latest warm-up game last weekend. And van Gaal expressed his satisfaction that Holland were one of the few European countries who claimed a victory in the latest round of friendly fixtures as they face their last pre-finals showdown against Wales in Amsterdam on Wednesday night.
Van Gaal said: “We were one of the few World Cup participants who won this weekend. Germany are playing 2-2 against Cameroon and Italy also play with 2-2 against Denmark. Spain win 2-0 to Bolivia. They get a penalty and make time just before the second goal. Well, great to hear from Spain.” The final comment was tongue-in-cheek at the Netherlands’ first game against the Spanish in Salvador on June 13. Van Gaal changed his formation in the win over Ghana to 5-3-2, but the 62-year-old claims that is a definite indicator over how he will line up when Group B kicks off with a re-match of the 2010 final. He added: “I always look at the opponents we currently take. But we have to make it difficult for Spain. That’s what I saw and is why I think we need to play like that.
“When the opponents are playing with two strikers, I will usually play in that system (5-3-2 ). When they retire, it may be that I’m going to play 4-4-2.” Japan beat Costa Rica In Tampa, Man United striker Shinji Kagawa scored the go-ahead goal in the 80th minute on Monday as Japan defeated Costa Rica 3-1 in a World Cup warm-up friendly for both teams. Kagawa stumbled as the ball came to him in the heart of the penalty area but kept his balance and swept a right-footed shot past Costa Rica goalkeeper Keilor Navas to give Japan a 2-1 edge.
Yoichiro Kakitani, who came off the bench in the 76th minute, added an insurance goal in stoppage time for the Blue Samurai, who trailed 1-0 at half time after finding only frustration from a flurry of chances. “It was good that we could come back and win after we fell behind,” Kagawa said. Costa Rica captain Bryan Ruiz opened the scoring in the 31st minute, outracing Japan defender Yasuyuki Konno. But Yasuhito Endo equalised for Japan in the 60th minute.
