Live Commentary: Netherlands 2-0 Wales - as it happened

Netherlands welcomed Wales to the Amsterdam ArenA this evening for the final warm-up match before they begin their World Cup campaign next Friday.

Arjen Robben opened the scoring on 32 minutes by smartly sweeping in the rebound of a Robin van Persie shot which had been parried by Wayne Hennessey.

The visitors were without Gareth Bale and Aaron Ramsey and so rarely caused an attacking threat to the Dutch, but they did hold out until the 76th minute until conceding again.

Jeremain Lens simply converted Robben's cross at the back post to secure the result, after a miscommunication in the Welsh midfield was punished by Wesley Sneijder and a clinical counter attack.

Netherlands play reigning champions Spain in their opening Group B game next Friday.

Below, you can read how the action unfolded, courtesy of SM's live text coverage.

9.35pmThat's it from me. Thanks for joining Sports Mole tonight and be sure to return to us for live coverage of EVERY World Cup game, starting next Thursday with Brazil vs. Croatia. Until then...

9.34pmA constructive run out for the Dutch, but perhaps an injury concern with Van Persie reported to have picked up a niggle. Will he be fit for their opening World Cup game against Spain in nine days?

9.32pmArjen Robben netted the opening goal on 32 minutes after Robin van Persie's shot was blocked at the near post by Wayne Hennessey, and Jeremain Lens converted Robben's cross for the second.

9.30pmA comfortable win for Netherlands, who hardly got into third gear against a Welsh side who were missing their attacking stars but were determined not to disgrace themselves with the scoreline.

9.28pmFULL-TIME: NETHERLANDS 2-0 WALES

90+1 minSneijder curls over from range in the first of THREE added minutes...

90 minWilliams embarks on another mazy dribble which takes the Netherlands defence by surprise, but just as he is entering the box, the excellent De Vrij stretches to make a great slide tackle.

87 minThree minutes plus stoppage time left in Amsterdam. Will I be correct with my pre-match prediction or will Netherlands notch a third in the final minutes? Lens is through, but the flag is raised.

85 minHuntelaar tries to stab in a rebound from in from inside the six-yard box, but is penalised for taking the ball out of the hands of Hennessey, who had spilt a cushioned square from Lens.

83 minSUBSTITUTIONS: Coleman has made a couple of alterations in the last five minutes, bringing on David Vaughan for King and, most recently, handing Paul Dummett a cameo at the expense of Taylor.

80 minSHOT! De Vrij carries the ball from defence and takes on Welsh invitations to strike from range, hitting the ball firmly from 30 yards, but a couple of metres wide of Hennessey's post.

79 minLATEST: England have turned around their early deficit in Miami, where Liverpool's newest signing Rickie Lambert has scored to make it 2-1 to the Three Lions with 51 minutes gone.

77 minSUBSTITUTION: Huntelaar takes the place of former Man City midfielder Nigel de Jong.

76 minNetherlands make the result secure with a second from Jeremain Lens following a clinical counter attack. The Welsh midfield leave the ball to each other and when Sneijder picks it up on the halfway line, it takes just five touches for the Dutch to find the net. Sneijder's superb ball releases Robben, who is too quick for Gabbidon, and the Bayern winger squares for Lens to simply tap in at the back post.

76 minGOAL! NETHERLANDS 2-0 WALES (JEREMAIN LENS)

74 minVlaar drives a long-range shot some distance over the crossbar as Van Gaal readies his second wave of changes. Klaas Jan Huntelaar receives a warm reception as he strips down to his kit.

72 minCHANCE! George Williams nearly just announced himself in style there, skipping past tackles from Blind, De Jong and Janmaat before being thwarted by Vlaar's block as he prepared to stab goalwards! A superb dribble from the teenager as a Welsh substitution nearly works wonders again!

70 minSUBSTITUTION: It's Williams for Williams as Crystal Palace winger Jonathan makes way for 18-year-old Fulham midfielder George. Coleman is showing great faith in his youngsters here.

67 minCHANCE! Within seconds of his introduction, Easter has a great opportunity to equalise after a quick throw from Gunter catches Netherlands sleeping. Cillessen comes off his line, stays tall and blocks with his legs as the 32-year-old tried to poke the ball through him. Wales' best chance so far.

66 minSUBSTITUTION: Coleman spares Church 25 minutes of more hard work in the lone striker role by swapping him for Jermaine Easter, who scored just three times for Championship Millwall last term.

62 minSUBSTITUTIONS: The Welsh make their first changes, with Cardiff City's Declan John replacing Robson-Kanu. John is a full-back by trade so will lend some defensive support to Taylor on the left side as they try to combat the threat of Robben. Also, Manchester City youngster Emyr Huws is on in place of Joe Ledley in the centre of the park. A big occasion for the 20-year-old, who has yet to play for City.

59 minSneijder has space to turn in the Wales half and he threads through Lens, who shoots powerfully against the post! Play is called back anyway, with Lens having unfairly barged Chester off the ball.

57 minGood defending from Gabbidon and Allen, who prevent Robben from cutting inside, forcing him to the byline where they concede only a corner. Robson-Kanu's mistake had allowed Robben in.

55 minLATEST: It is half time across the pond, where England and Ecuador are level at 1-1. Enner Valencia opened the scoring for the South Americans before Wayne Rooney equalised on 29 minutes.

53 minA patient piece of build-up play is wasted by a terribly overhit cross from Janmaat. Meanwhile, we're hearing that Van Persie could have picked up a niggle in that first half. More on that when we get it.

50 minWilliams has been lively on the few occasions where Wales have managed to get him the ball. He wriggles free of Martins Indi to cross from the right, but Vlaar is well positioned to intercept.

46 minSUBSTITUTIONS: Both are made by the Dutch, who bring on Georginio Wijnaldum and Jeremain Lens for Leroy Fer and Robin van Persie, whose withdrawal is no surprise amid fitness concerns.

46 minKICKOFF: The action has resumed, and I do have news of some half-time changes for you...

8.36pmI expect there will be a fair amount of substitutions from both manager, if not at half time, then during the second period. Van Gaal will be wary of picking up any more injuries, with Rafael Van der Vaart and Kevin Strootman already high-profile absentees from his 23-man World Cup squad.

8.33pmSTATS: The Welsh have had a respectable 45% possession in the opening 45 minutes, but have yet to covert that into a single shot on goal. Holland have had eight, four on target.

8.31pmLATEST: England are level in Miami where Wayne Rooney has scored a scrappy equaliser against Ecuador. That may do him some good following the rather strange calls to have him dropped.

8.28pmThe visitors have had some tidy spells of possession, but created little in terms of chances. Simon Church's cross which Bruno Martins Indi smartly cleared was about as close as they got.

8.26pmWales have by no means been dominated in Amsterdam, but Robben could have had two or three, with a brilliant piece of defending from Chris Gunter denying him on one occasion.

8.23pmArjen Robben's 32nd-minute goal is the difference between Netherlands and Wales at the break. The winger finished well after Robin van Persie's shot had been parried away by Wayne Hennessey.

8.20pmHALF-TIME: NETHERLANDS 1-0 WALES

45 minWe are now entering the ONE minute of stoppage time at the end of this first period...

44 minAfter some smart footwork from King in the middle of the park, Taylor sends Church down the left, but the offside flag is raised. Church is a willing runner as always, but rather isolated at times.

40 minCLOSE! Van Persie comes within a whisker of doubling Holland's lead, starting off the move deep before running into the box. Fer releases the galloping Janmaat inside Taylor, and the Dutchman's pull-back perfectly picks out Van Persie, who opens his left foot but guides just wide of the far stick.

37 minWilliams is floored by Blind after skipping past a couple of Dutch challenges during a pacey cross-field dribble. He would do well to beat De Vrij, though, who has looked very strong thus far.

35 minLATEST: There has also been a goal in Miami, where Ecuador have taken a shock eighth-minute lead against England courtesy of a strike from Enner Valencia. That will do nothing to improve the pre-tournament pessimism surrounding the Three Lions' chances of a good showing in Brazil.

32 minThe hosts make the breakthrough just after the half-hour mark and little surprise it is Robben who has scored. Van Persie gets away from Gunter and to the left byline, and his shot bounces off a surprised Hennessey and into the path of Robben, who smartly sweeps a tricky rebound into the net.

32 minGOAL! NETHERLANDS 1-0 WALES (ARJEN ROBBEN)

29 minRobben has comfortably been Netherlands' most dangerous attacker. He makes his customary burst in from the right and shoots, via the ankle of Ledley, just wide of Hennessey's left-hand post.

26 minBLOCK! An incredible block from Gunter keeps the scores goalless! A neat one-two between Robben and Sneijder sends the Bayern winger into the box and he holds off Gabbidon and Taylor to work himself the perfect opening. Hennessey goes down, but Gunter comes across at the last minute to divert the shot over the crossbar, to the disbelief of Robben and his teammates. Fantastic defending.

24 minOf course, England are also in action tonight as they face Ecuador in Miami. Kickoff is just minutes away and I shall try to keep you up to date with how Roy Hodgson's side are getting on.

21 minFrom the resultant corner, Cillessen unconvincingly punches to the edge of the box, where King tries to lob the stranded keeper first time. His effort is short, and Church cannot get a head to it to divert it goalwards. You can see why the Dutch number one spot is up for grabs.

20 minA scare for the Dutch as Taylor's strong play allows him to release Church down the left. He crosses into a great area, but Martins Indi does really well to clear with two Welshmen anticipating tap ins.

18 minChris Coleman will be fairly happy with the last 10 minutes. Since Van Persie and Robben each had an early chance, the Dutch have not threatened and Wales have had their fair share of the ball.

16 minThe visitors pass the ball around Fer nicely on the left side and then attack through Robson-Kanu. Twice, though, passes into the feet of Church go astray and eventually Cillessen collects.

14 minWales have had three set pieces in the last few minutes and have loaded the box on each occasion, but to no avail. Chester fouls De Jong while climbing to head goalwards at the back post.

11 minIt appears as though Van Gaal has split the Feyenoord defensive pairing up, shifting Martins Indi to left-back, with Ron Vlaar in the centre and Janmaat on the right side. With Janmaat and Blind both capable of fulfilling several roles, the Dutch boss can easily reshuffle as the game goes on.

9 minCLOSE! Lots of possession for Netherlands around the centre circle, before De Vrij cleverly dinks Robben free over the top. The winger was definitely onside and, after bringing the ball down perfectly into his path, he just misses the far post with his shot. Inches away from an opener.

7 minA poor piece of control from Norwich City's Leroy Fer gives Wales the chance to counter. Allen tries to release Williams down the right channel, but Martins Indi fairly muscles him off the ball.

3 minSAVE! It takes Netherlands less than three minutes to stretch Hennessey as Van Persie easily nutmegs Gunter cutting in from the left before shooting low left footed. The Wales keeper gets down quickly to make a good stop, and Taylor reacts well to swipe the ball clear.

2 minRobben has an early chance to cut inside, as he loves to do for Bayern Munich, after linking up with Janmaat. His shot is well blocked by Taylor and a follow-up effort flies wide.

1 minKICKOFF: The Welsh get us underway, a few minutes later than scheduled.

7.28pmPREDICTION: Wales are obviously missing a few key attacking players and will thus find it difficult to break down Netherlands. I don't see them scoring, but they could frustrate the Dutch, at least for periods. I think Van Persie and company will still manage to net a couple, though. 2-0 Holland.

7.26pmConsidering that, Van Gaal would have wanted as sterner test as possible from the Welsh tonight and has admitted that the absence of Bale and Ramsey comes as a disappointment to him. He told reporters: "I have said to my board that they have to insist on playing with Gareth Bale and Aaron Ramsey," Van Gaal told reporters. "I don't know why, if it is injuries or holidays. When it is a holiday I'm a little bit disappointed but I can understand it, because Bale has had a very difficult and pressured season. "It's better that we have the best Welsh team because we need resistance and I think without these players Wales are weaker. They want to play the ball... they're not a bad team. But with Bale it's always better, with Ramsey also."

7.24pmAround five minutes until kickoff in Amsterdam as the Dutch make a final pit stop on the way to Brazil, where they face a difficult group stage campaign, with Spain, Chile and Australia their opponents.

7.23pmGoalkeepers Tim Krul and Michel Vorm, of Newcastle United and Swansea respectively, are familiar names on a Holland bench which also includes former Liverpool forward Dirk Kuyt.

7.21pmLeft-back Daley Blind and versatile midfielder Daryl Janmaat, who are also reportedly attracting interest from England, are both starters. Spurs apparently lodged a bid for Janmaat on Tuesday.

7.19pmBoth have drawn admiring glances from the Premier League, with United, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur all thought to be tracking one or both of the highly-rated centre-halves.

7.17pmWhile there is lots of experience in attack, the Netherlands defence looks rather more youthful, with Feyenoord duo Stefan de Vrij and Bruno Martins Indi partners for the national team, also.

7.16pmThe Dutch are skippered by another Old Trafford resident, Robin van Persie, who is one third of an intimidating forward line which also includes Wesley Sneijder and Arjen Robben.

7.14pmDanny Gabbidon and James Chester, both of whom enjoyed excellent domestic seasons, form a new-look centre-back partnership. Youngsters Emyr Huws, George Williams and Tom Lawrence, who may play against his future Manchester United manager, are all on the visiting bench.

7.12pmSwansea City pair Ashley Williams and Ben Davies are also absent and therefore Liverpool's Joe Allen takes the on the captaincy, while injury to Sam Vokes means that Simon Church starts up front.

7.11pmWorld-record signing and Champions League winner, Gareth Bale of Real Madrid, as well as goalscoring Arsenal midfielder Aaron Ramsey, are both rested by the Welsh due to fitness issues.

7.10pmSUBS: Fon-Williams, G Williams, Jones, Nyantanga, Richards, Dummett, John, Lawrence, Easter, Roberts, Vaughan, Huws

7.09pmWALES: Hennessey; Gunter, Gabbidon, Chester, Taylor; Allen, Ledley, King; Robson-Kanu, Williams, Church

7.08pmSUBS: Verhaegh, Veltman, Kongolo, Kuyt, Lens, Huntelaar, Wijnaldum, Depay, Vorm, Krul

7.07pmNETHERLANDS: Cillessen; Vlaar, De Vrij, Martins Indi, Blind; Janmaat, De Jong, Fer; Robben, Sneijder, Van Persie

7.05pmAs I alluded to there, there are a few notable names missing from the Wales squad tonight, but Louis van Gaal has gone with a strong Dutch lineup. Here comes the full team news...

7.03pmEvening, all. Beaten finalists in the last World Cup, Netherlands, host an understrength Wales side at the Amsterdam ArenA, in the final game before they travel to Brazil hoping to go one better.

Live Commentary: Netherlands 2-0 Wales - as it happened

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