Hiddink wants style as well as substance

Guus Hiddink wants to see Netherlands win playing attacking football when they meet Kazakhstan in Amsterdam on Friday.

The 67-year-old head coach was left with plenty to ponder after last month’s opening 2-1 Euro 2016 qualifying defeat to Czech Republic, and he expects better in the forthcoming double header against the Kazakhs and Iceland.

Friday’s clash will mark the first time the two nations have met in international football with Netherlands, who finished third at the World Cup, strong favourites to take all three points.

But while the Dutch are expected to win, Hiddink has also stressed the importance of putting together a strong performance to rebuild their confidence.

“We obviously want to win, but preferably also in the way we like to see, with attacking football,” he told a media conference on Thursday. “A win-plus, I call it.

“There are no easy games anymore. I know their coach [Yuri Krasnozhan], they play well-organised football, it’s not just a bunch of amateurs.

“We must give Kazakhstan as little space as possible.”

Hiddink also revealed that Olympiacos loanee Ibrahim Afellay will start the match on Friday after impressing since his move from Barcelona.

Afellay has scored twice in five appearances for the Greek side in all competitions having agreed a season-long move in August.