Slovakia coach Vladimir Weiss described fit-again Arjen Robben as a "genius" after seeing the Netherlands winger dump his side out of the World Cup.

Robben set up a 2-1 Dutch win with a fine solo goal as he started his first game of the tournament after injury.

"We were preparing for three days for Robben, for his way of playing, but he is a total genius," said Weiss.

"When I saw him in the line-up I knew he would make the Dutch 50% stronger -and I was correct."

WORLD CUP PHOTO ALBUM Do you have a photo with yourself and a star from Slovakia? Send us your photos to be in our World Cup Photo Album

Robben gave the Dutch a lead they never looked like relinquishing after 18 minutes of the last-16 tie when he jinked inside from the right and drilled home a superb left-footed strike from 25 yards.

The winger continued to torment the Slovakian defence throughout the match as Weiss's side failed to scale the heights of their exhilarating 3-2 win over champions Italy in the group stages.

"We had three huge chances when the result was 1-0 and had Robert Vittek managed to take his chances, it could have been a different story. But in the end, if you make mistakes you are punished," said Weiss.

Striker Vittek eventually hit the target when he converted a penalty with the last kick of the game to take his World Cup goals tally to four.

Slovakian boss Weiss also took heart from his side's achievement of reaching the last 16 in their first World Cup as an independent nation.

"We played with heart and courage and we are proud that we made it to the second round, but the better team went through - Holland were great opponents," stated Weiss.

"I am happy with my players, although I believe they could have played much better but the penalty at the end will make us feel better during our flight back home."

E-mail this to a friend

Printable version