By DPA,
Cape Town : Dutch goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg admitted that he was at fault when Diego Forlan equalised for Uruguay against the Netherlands in Tuesday’s semi-final match played in Green Point Stadium.
The Netherlands went on to win 3-2 through goals by Giovanni van Bronckhorst, Wesley Sneijder and Arjen Robben, while Maximiliano Pereira grabbed an injury time second goal for the South Americans.
Dutch coach Bert van Marwijk said at the press conference that he thought Forlan’s goal was not the Ajax Amsterdam goalkeeper’s fault.
“I have to look at the replay, we’ve been talking about the ball. This ball made a very strange movement. I think he couldn’t see it very well,” the coach said.
Stekelenburg disagreed with his coach though and admitted that it had been a goalkeeping error that gifted Forlan the goal. “Yes, the first goal was a mistake.
“I was out of position. I could not see the ball, so I took a step to my right to see the ball and at that moment he shoots, then I was too late. I did not get the ball because I was out of position.”
Stekelenburg, who took over the number one position from the experienced Edwin van der Sar, said he felt great that the team had qualified for the final in his first tournament as first choice goalkeeper.
“It is my first tournament and immediately we made it to the final.”
The 27-year-old said that he believed the side played very well. “We have the overall quality. Players like Kuyt, Sneijder. Everyone was very focused and concentrated from the beginning, we deserve to be in the final.”
He said that it made no difference to him whether they played Spain or Germany, who meet in Wednesday’s semi-final in Durban, in the final. “It does not matter whom we play in the final, we are in the final and tonight we are going to party and tomorrow we are going to watch who is our opponent in the final.”
The Dutch are looking forward to playing an opponent who plays a similar style. “I know that we will play a team with a stronger defence in the final (either Germany or Spain), but we will also have more space because they like to attack.
“The rest of the teams, except Brazil, they just focus on defence when they play against us. But against Spain or Germany it might be a more open final. That might suit us, or maybe it wont.
“The goal is to win the cup, that is what we are trying to do,” he said.