The
Dutch kick off the tournament against World Cup winners Italy on June 9 and then play France, runners up in Germany last summer, before facing Romania - who finished ahead of them during qualifying - in their final Group C game.
The group winners are likely to play either Portugal or Mexico, who will have wrapped up Group D before the
Dutch kick off, and although van Basten was initially reluctant to express a preference, it emerged he was warier of Luiz Felipe Scolari's side.
The
Dutch kick off Group C against World Cup winners Italy on June 9 in Berne and then play France, runners-up in Germany last summer, before facing Romania - who finished ahead of them during qualifying - eight days later.
The
Dutch kick off their World Cup 2002 qualifying campaign at home against the Republic of Ireland on September 2, and are in Group 2 with the Irish, Andorra, Cyprus, Portugal, and Estonia.
The
Dutch kicked off their campaign at the Winter Olympics with a clean sweep in the women's 3,000 metres speed skating as the relatively unknown Carlijn Achtereekte pipped defending champion Ireen Wust by the narrowest of margins to win gold.
Cebreiro - frontman of La Vela Puerca - is still furious with the way the
Dutch kicked his countrymen in the World Cup semi-final.