Van Nistelrooy out of Euro 'decider'
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Your support makes all the difference.Ruud Van Nistelrooy has suffered a recurrence of a hamstring injury and will miss the Netherlands' Euro 2004 Group Three qualifier against Austria in Vienna tomorrow.
The Manchester United striker left the Dutch training camp yesterday morning, still struggling with an injury he initially picked up in a Champions' League game against Bayer Leverkusen.
The Netherlands national coach, Dick Advocaat, will not fill the spot made vacant by the 26-year-old's departure, although he also has another uncertainty in Feyenoord striker Pierre van Hooijdonk, who is nursing an ankle injury.
Advocaat is expected to play Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink of Chelsea or Deportivo La Coruña's Roy Makaay up front in what is already being billed as a crucial game for Dutch hopes of qualifying for the 2004 finals in Portugal.
A win against Austria in Vienna would leave the Netherlands with a perfect record after two matches in Group Three. Anything less and Austria and the Czech Republic would become the favourites, with the Netherlands again in danger of missing one of the game's biggest showcases.
Advocaat is already calling it the "deciding" match in the group. He snapped at suggestions that it might be tempting for the star-studded Netherlands to overlook the Austrians. "Seeing as how we weren't in Japan or Korea, we're not in a position to underestimate anybody," he said.
England's main rivals in Group Seven, Turkey, should have no trouble at home against Liechtenstein tomorrow night. Their main concern is the goalkeeper Rustu Recber, who could miss out with back problems. He would be replaced by Omer Catkic.
In Group Five, Scotland's rivals Germany will expect to comfortably dispatch the Faroe Islands to regain the group lead from Berti Vogts's adopted country. The midfielders Michael Ballack and Dietmar Hamann should be back after missing a miserable 1-1 friendly draw last week against Bosnia.
* The Liverpool goalkeeper Chris Kirkland, who missed the England under-21 side's 4-0 away victory over Slovakia last Friday with a neck injury, will return for their second European Championship qualifier against Macedonia at Reading tonight.
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