Netherlands on guard for carefree Macedonia

By Theo Ruizenaar

SKOPJE (Reuters) - Netherlands coach Bert van Marwijk faces a tricky encounter for his first competitive match in charge when the Dutch take on a euphoric Macedonia in their World Cup qualifying opener in Skopje on Wednesday.

Macedonia made a stunning start to their Group Nine campaign on Saturday when Ilco Naumoski struck after four minutes to seal a 1-0 victory over Scotland.

However, Macedonia coach Srecko Katanec expects a far tougher test against the Dutch, who are likely to have Real Madrid's Arjen Robben back in the fold.

"The Dutch are one of the best teams in Europe and also one of the most entertaining," Katanec told reporters.

"But our objective was to win three points from our opening two matches so we have nothing to lose against Netherlands after beating Scotland," he added.

The Netherlands have had a mixed build-up to the match, suffering a 2-1 friendly defeat against Australia on Saturday after playing with 10 men for 47 minutes following a straight red card for goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg.

Stekelenburg's one-match ban will come into force for their next friendly match and is available for Wednesday's match.

Coach Van Marwijk was without Robben against the Australians, but expects the winger to be fit.