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9/7/12

World Cup Soccer: Netherlands vs Turkey Preview

Netherlands do not have too many injury worries ahead of Friday's game, but will still be without a number of regulars.

Louis van Gaal already dropped Mark van Bommel and Khalid Boulahrouz after Euro 2012, and has now opted to leave out Gregory van der Wiel, Nigel de Jong, Rafael van der Vaart and Ibrahim Afellay as well as he feels they lack match practice and have been too busy with transfers in the past few weeks.

Therefore, Ajax youngster Ricardo van Rhijn is expected to start at right-back, while Twente star Leroy Fer is likely to take De Jong's place in midfield.
Robin van Persie will probably have to settle for a spot on the bench once more as Van Gaal prefers Schalke hitman Klaas-Jan Huntelaar as his No.9.
Turkey boss Abdullah Avci will have to make do without the services of first-choice goalkeeper Volkan Demirel due to injury, while back-up shot stopper Sinan Bolat is being plagued by physical problems as well.

Utility man Sabri Sarioglu is unavailable, too, and Besiktas striker Mustafa Pektemek recently sustained a serious knee injury that will keep him out of action for a while.

Galatasaray midfielder Selcuk Inan will be hoping to get the chance to prove his worth against the Dutch, but it seems as if the 27-year-old might miss out on a starting berth.

 Read more: Netherlands vs Turkey Preview - Goal.com

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