Netherlands coach Bert van Marwijk is not planning on changing his tactics for the World Cup semifinal against Uruguay, despite criticism about the lack of Dutch flair that has dogged his team throughout the tournament.

"We are continuing down the road we have chosen," Van Marwijk said Monday. "I will not let anyone distract me from that."

Uruguay coach Oscar Tabarez, meanwhile, is drawing inspiration to beat the favoured Dutch from the 1950 "Miracle of Maracana," when his tiny nation beat Brazil at Maracana stadium to earn its second World Cup title.

"The history of the World Cup is full of results that nobody could have expected, and they continue to happen," Tabarez said. "Why shouldn't we be able to win on Tuesday?"

But, he added: "I know we have to play a perfect game and we're going to approach it with all of our effort."

Uruguay, ranked No. 16 in the world, is a two-time World Cup winner, while the fourth-ranked Netherlands is still trying to shake off the tag of two-time loser after talent-packed Dutch teams lost to hosts Germany and Argentina in 1974 and 1978.

"We have to beat Uruguay," Wesley Sneijder told the official Dutch supporters website. "We're just thinking of one thing: we want to win the World Cup. This is our time."

Uruguay only reached Tuesday's semifinal at Green Point Stadium thanks to Luis Suarez's handball on the line to deny Ghana in the dying seconds of extra time, and Tabarez knows his team will have to do better against the Dutch.

However, Tabarez hit back at criticism of Suarez's actions.

"We are very proud of our behaviour," Tabarez said. "Please don't tell me or suggest that we cheated. I don't accept that in any way."

Van Marwijk and Tabarez are both having to fill holes in their starting lineups caused by injuries and suspensions.

Chief among them will be the suspended Suarez, who knows all about scoring against Dutch defences - with 43 goals in 39 games for Ajax last season in the Eredivisie and Dutch Cup.

Fullback Jorge Fucile also is suspended after picking up a second yellow card against Ghana, while central defender Diego Godin missed that game with a left thigh problem and remains in doubt. Captain Diego Lugano also is fighting to be fit after injuring a right knee ligament against Ghana.

"The risk of pain is the last thing on my mind," Lugano said. "Everybody wants to play in these games, but the question is whether I'm physically 100 per cent to be able to play a game at this level."

Tabarez refused Monday to reveal whether Lugano and Godin would play.

"Our lineup is our great secret," he said. "Neither my players nor the Dutch players are going to know until Tuesday."

Van Marwijk is expected to start Khalid Boulahrouz at right back and Demy de Zeeuw as a defensive midfielder in place of the suspended Gregory van der Wiel and Nigel de Jong, who both picked up their second yellow cards of the tournament against Brazil.

However, injury clouds hanging over Hamburg centre back Joris Mathijsen and Arsenal striker Robin van Persie have disappeared, with both declared fit to play. Mathijsen has recovered from the knee injury that forced him out of the quarterfinal just minutes before kickoff, and Van Persie can play despite injuring his left elbow against Brazil.

Van Persie has scored just one goal in the five victories leading into the semifinals in Cape Town, but Sneijder has picked up the scoring slack with four strikes from midfield, including both second-half goals in the comeback 2-1 defeat of five-time champion Brazil.

Van Marwijk said he still had confidence in Van Persie, despite his lean patch.

"Players with so much talent can play well and turn a match at any time," Van Marwijk said. "I have always had faith in him even when he was not playing so well and I still do."

Uruguay may be missing Suarez, but it still has one of the world's top strikers, Diego Forlan, who already has three goals in South Africa.

The Netherlands is on a 24-match unbeaten run and in its first World Cup semifinal since 1998 in France, when it lost on penalties to Brazil.

"The Netherlands is a great team with lots of players with individual quality that also work hard for the team," Uruguay defender Mauricio Victorino said. "They have managed to get that balance between attacking power and defensive solidity."

While both teams' strikers are making headlines, their success is built on defensive strength; Uruguay has conceded just two goals at the World Cup, while the Dutch have allowed three.

Uruguay is the sole South American survivor in the last four after Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay all crashed out in the quarterfinals. The other semifinal is an all-European affair pitting European champion Spain against form team Germany in Durban.

Uruguay won the World Cup in 1930 and 1950, but last reached a semifinal in 1970 when the team finished in fourth place.

"It's a very difficult match against the Netherlands," Tabarez said. "They haven't lost a game so far, they've got great players and a lot of diversity in their play.

"They will start as the favourites and it's going to be difficult - difficult, but not impossible."

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