Holland 2 USA 1

The international friendly between Holland and USA at the Amsterdam ArenA on Wednesday March 3, 2010.

England have been handed a warning, written in lurid orange. When Fabio Capello finds the time to study the evidence of this match, he should be less concerned about the energetic pressing of USA than the effortless passing of Bert van Marwijk’s Holland, the team any coach still in South Africa for the World Cup’s latter stages will be hoping fervently to avoid.

Capello had dispatched one of his most trusted scouts, the former Chelsea striker Kenny Swain, to the Amsterdam Arena to scrutinise the American challenge that awaits England on June 12.

The report that lands on the Italian’s desk at Wembley should be an optimistic one. In 100 years the United States have never scored a competitive goal against the Dutch and looked unlikely to do so here.

In the defence of coach Bill Bradley, this was only a sketchy imitation of the team likely to be deployed against England at Rustenburg’s Royal Bafokeng Stadium.

Landon Donovan, savouring a fruitful loan spell at Everton, not to mention Hull striker Jozy Altidore, might be cast-iron choices, but Bolton winger Stuart Holden is as yet a more peripheral presence.

This did not temper the significance of Holden’s exit after barely half an hour, the result of a careless challenge by Nigel de Jong. The 25 year-old, a January acquisition for Bolton from Houston Dynamo, disappeared down the tunnel with an ice-pack strapped to his ankle: a sight to haunt Bradley when he was already covering for an injury to Clint Dempsey, still out with ligament damage, in the same position.

There was a sense, though, that even an American team of full strength would have struggled to contain Holland, who sustained a perfect record in qualifying to elevate themselves to third in the world rankings.

Among the hosts’ latest exponents of ‘total football’, Wesley Sneijder, assuming the same role with which Jose Mourinho entrusts him at Inter Milan, had total control as the connection between midfield and attack, his pace proving an acute headache for the Americans’ inexperienced central midfield pairing of Jose Torres and Michael Bradley.

The only way to impede him was to chop agriculturally at his ankles or tug his jersey, both of which Jonathan Bornstein made the mistake of doing inside the penalty area six minutes before half-time.

Dirk Kuyt, who had been denied a clear sight on goal as the lone striker, buried the ensuing spot-kick with relish, wrong-footing Everton goalkeeper Tim Howard.

The hapless Bornstein was fortunate not to concede another penalty moments later when he appeared to handle Sneijder’s cross.

The shake-up that the Dutch engineered in the second half reflected the depth of their squad. Any team that could afford to leave a forward of the calibre of Klaas-Jan Huntelaar on the bench is one with serious World Cup credentials.

To think, they also had Robin van Persie, whom Arsenal have said will be back for the final six games of the Premier League season, out as well.

Ultimately, they could no resist deploying the talent of Huntelaar and the Milan striker’s impact was instant. Seizing upon a fine pass from fellow substitute Rafael van der Vaart, he contrived a powerful long-range shot that took a fortunate deflection beyond the reach of Howard.

The Americans, to their credit, refused to relent and were rewarded by the late influence of DaMarcus Beasley, whose inswinging free kick was turned in by captain Carlos Bocanegra.

The scoreline was fairer on Bradley’s team who had looked naive in some of their defending but remained a formidable threat from set-pieces.