Cape Town, July 6: Uruguay’s star striker Diego Forlan says his team know how to counter the Netherlands threat and are ready to take their place in the World Cup final.
 The South Americans face the Dutch as underdogs in their semi-final in Cape Town later on Tuesday and the Atletico Madrid hitman is keen to add to the three goals he has scored in South Africa so far.
 “Everyone knows they (the Dutch) are a great side with some world-class players, especially up front,” the former Manchester United forward told Fifa.com.
 “They are solid at the back too and they are all comfortable on the ball. That makes it an even more difficult game for us.”
 But Forlan believes his side know how to beat them.
 “Keep on doing the things that have got us this far,” he said.
 “We’ve had respect for all our opponents and we won’t be making an exception now. We know how to play teams like the Netherlands too, and you have to be ready to face the challenge, whether it’s 90 or 120 minutes.
 “The team’s definitely ready to face this one.”
 Forlan is his side’s talisman but will be operating on Tuesday without partner Luis Suarez, who was red-carded for a deliberate goal-line handball in their quarter-final against Ghana.
 Forlan said the Ajax striker knew he would be dismissed, but it kept his team in the tournament.
 “He’s happy because he helped the team but sad at missing out on the semi-final,” he said.
 “Both he and Jorge (Fucile) reacted instinctively on the line and they knew they’d be sent off if they handled the ball. At the end of the day Luis gave us another chance and we took it.”
 That match came down to a stressful penalty shootout and Forlan said they wanted to avoid the scenario against Holland.
 “All the players who took penalties against Ghana had been practising before and we knew what to do,” he said.
 “Even Maxi (Pereira) struck his well and he only just missed. You really suffer at times like that, though, and we hope we don’t need another shoot-out against the Dutch.”
 The winners of their semi-final will play either Germany or European champions Spain, who play in Durban on Wednesday.

Lastupdate on : Tue, 6 Jul 2010 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Tue, 6 Jul 2010 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Wed, 7 Jul 2010 00:00:00 IST