The suspended Danny Blind sits out the match as must the injured

The suspended Danny Blind sits out the match, as must the injured Frank de Boer, which is likely to force the Dutch to bring in Johan de Kock, a part-timer who works as a road engineer, as a defensive marker.The absence of two players through whom the Netherlands' Ajax-dominated side originate attacks will place additional responsibility on Edgar Davids. The most recent Scottish victory came in their ill-starred 1978 World Cup in Argentina.What may prove to be in the Scots' favour is the loss, through injury, of what Brown's opposite number, Guus Hiddink, has described as "the nerve centre" of his team. Now is the time to reverse that."The time may be right; the auguries are not auspicious. The Netherlands have beaten Scotland in their last three meetings, starting with Dennis Bergkamp's late winner at the outset of the Swedish finals. In each of the three tournaments in which their manager, Craig Brown, has been involved, Scotland opened with a 1-0 defeat.

Ten years ago, as part of Alex Ferguson's staff at the Mexico World Cup, he saw Denmark squeeze past them. Four years later, when Brown was No 2 to Andy Roxburgh, it was Costa Rica's turn, while, at Euro 92 they lost to the Dutch in Gothenberg. "We didn't have a single scrap of luck in any of those games," Brown said yesterday. "Against Costa Rica, for example, we made 19 scoring chances without getting a break. The Brescia midfield player did not train last week because of a niggling hamstring injury.

Nevertheless Iordanescu is adopting a positive approach and there is plenty of quality in their ranks in the shape of Gheorghe Hagi, Gheorghe Popescu and the Chelsea wing-back Dan Petrescu. Scotland must break the mould twice over if they are to make a positive start to their Group A campaign against the Netherlands at Villa Park today. "To win this tournament you have to be very offensive," he said A chance for Paul Gascoigne then.. He said: "I will be assessing my players' fitness, both mental and physical, in the hours that remain before the game."I will be looking at them in the hotel and at the training ground to see if anyone is tired or looks as if he has a problem."One thing in France's favour is that the Romanians may be forced to go into the game without Ioan Sabau. They are a very dangerous team for France.''This is mainly because the principal that Romania live and die for is possession. They pass and pass, waiting for an opening to arrive and opponents can lose concentration waiting for the ball. The French, talented but inexperienced, might be frustrated to the point of distraction.Jacquet will name his team two hours before kick-off but they are expected to be at full strength.

"The most difficult, the most dangerous game will be the first match," he said "It has an impact on preparations for all the others The Romanians are full of very talented players. Which might seem strange considering that his side have an astonishingly long unbeaten run of more than 20 matches but can be put in better perspective when their qualifying record of five draws in 10 qualifying games is taken into account. One of those stalemates was against tonight's opponents in Paris and, as the Romanian coach, Anghel Iordanescu, points out: "We have a good record against the French.''It is something that Jacquet concedes. Amid the hype surrounding France, which runs along the lines of "they must be good if they can afford to omit Eric Cantona and David Ginola", one thing has tended to be forgotten: they were in the same qualifying group as the Romanians and it was the latter who finished top. We arrive for Euro 96 in a spirit of "modesty and ambition", the French coach, Aime Jacquet, said as his squad prepared for tonight's Group B meeting with the Romanians in Newcastle. When his Ajax contract expires next year he will probably join his friend, Edgar Davids, at Milan.. They tend to forget what really happened."Indeed, many people in the game have considerable sympathy for Kluivert, and hope he can put the tragedy behind him and continue his career. They think he drove like a madman and should be punished as severely as possible Ajax fans think he's been punished enough.

He has ruined my life, but it is very important for me he was found guilty. It was a soft sentence, but that was normal for the Netherlands. The judge was correct.""Everyone in my family was always enthusiastic about Ajax My husband, my father When I was young, I liked them too My son used to go to games with his grandfather. Now he still watches, but only on video, so, if he sees Kluivert, he can use the fast forward button, so he doesn't have to see him any more."Altan Erdogan, who covered the case for Het Parool, says: "People who don't like football say Kluivert was drunk on fame and success. I'm so glad my husband didn't have pain or fear," says Putman's wife Hanny, who was also injured in the crash.