The win over Brazil created pandemonium back home, and left only Uruguay standing between the Netherlands and the World Cup final.

The Dutch have twice reached the final and are considered the best team never to have won the title. Now they face a Uruguayan side hit by suspensions and injury problems after a penalty shootout victory over Ghana.

"The euphoria back home is incredible," Netherlands coach Bert van Marwijk said. "It's a shame that we cannot experience it."

But the Dutch may get some of that euphoria when they arrive in Cape Town for the semifinals because about 20,000 of their citizens have settled in the southwest coastal city over the years.

The South Africa-based fans will surely swell their following to more than the 5,000 who were at Friday's quarterfinal win over Brazil at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, and many of them will be sweating on the fitness of striker Robin van Persie.

The Arsenal forward injured his left arm against the Brazilians and went to the hospital on Saturday for a scan. He was joined by defender Joris Mathijsen, who injured his right knee in the warmup ahead of the Brazil match and had to pull out of the game.

"They are both at the hospital to have a scan," said Van Marwijk, who hopes to know the results on Sunday. "Robin has an arm problem and Joris a knee problem. I don't know what it is, that's why they are at the hospital. I don't think it is serious."

The victory over the five-time champion Brazilians has given the Dutch renewed hope that they can finally capture the prize they came so close to winning twice in the 1970s.

The Dutch lost to the Germans in the 1974 final in Munich and to Argentina in '78 in Buenos Aires but played with a style that rivalled the brilliant Brazilians.

Although Van Marwijk has a wealth of attacking talent in Arjen Robben, Wesley Sneijder and Van Persie, he is not trying to emulate that style. He wants his players to stick to a tried and trusted pragmatic method - trying to stop their opponents from playing and then attacking them in an imaginative but intelligent way, rather than resort to unnecessary trickery.

"Why does everyone want the coach to make changes all the time?" Van Marwijk said Saturday. "You have to have more courage not to change. Yesterday I told the players, 'You have to be yourselves, play your own game.'

"But we didn't have the courage to play our own game in the first 20 minutes and fell behind. In the second half, we played our own game and then you could see how good we can play. I was very happy that I didn't change anything."

Even if Van Persie and Mathijsen regain fitness, Van Marwijk will be forced into some changes for Tuesday's match against Uruguay. Midfielder Nigel de Jong and defender Gregory van der Wiel are both suspended for the game after collecting second yellow cards for the tournament.

While Van Persie and Mathijsen went for their scans Saturday, the rest of the players who beat Brazil were allowed to train in the gymnasium away from the eyes of the media.

With at least two holes to fill in his starting lineup for the semifinals, Van Marwijk put his other fit outfield players through a training session before he decides on replacements.

Uruguay will be missing at least striker Luis Suarez, who was sent off against Ghana for handling the ball on the line in the final minute of extra time.

"We know Luis very well. He's a good player," Van Marwijk said of the Ajax striker. "But we have two players out as well."

Even though Uruguay came through a long and tough quarterfinal match, Van Marwijk doesn't think his team has an easy route to the final.

"I think the next game will be very dangerous," he said. "This is the moment we have been waiting for two years. When we beat Brazil we were in the last four of the World Cup. Coming up next is Uruguay.

"Uruguay is a strong side and we will have to be very concentrated. They are fighters, survivors."

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