This match hasn't gone down in history as one of the great games of the World Cup (in fact, it is most remembered for one isolated flash of skill from Cruyff), but it did have its moments. The Dutch, attacking cleverly when they could but being forced to rely on their defence far more than in the preceding game, were not as inspired as they had been against Uruguay, and Sweden, though they had their chances, were not quite adventurous enough to beat them. With Sweden having drawn their opening match against Bulgaria, the draw today probably suited both teams in the grander scheme of things.

Line-up against Sweden. Cruyff, Jongbloed, Haan, Keizer, Rijsbergen, Rep, Suurbier, Jansen, Van Hanegem, Krol, Neeskens.

  Sweden were in their blue and white change kit, while the Dutch wore black shorts. Although Holland are more widely remembered as wearing orange and white in 1974, in fact their policy was to wear either black or white shorts depending on the opposition's colours and irrespective of who was at home; as it turned out, they wore white shorts in five out of the seven matches they played in this World Cup.

  Piet Keizer was preferred to Rob Rensenbrink for this game, the only change Michels made in his starting line-up for the entire tournament. It was not a particularly distinguished performance by the Ajax captain, now rather noticeably past his best at the highest level, still a very effective forward, but not quite attuned to the way Michels wanted the 1974 team to play, maybe overly inclined to hug the left wing position, which cramped the team's fluid style a bit.

  For Keizer, this was to be the last game of a very impressive international career. He has gone on record claiming Michels held some sort of grudge against him, going back to his Ajax days when Keizer's influence in the dressing-room was rumoured to be one of the factors in the coach's departure. And the fact that he had been the winner in the election which deposed Cruyff as Ajax captain at the start of the 1973-74 season, innocent party though he may have been, was probably not forgotten by his current international captain. From now on, Rensenbrink would increasingly become one of the dominant players in this multi-talented team, not exactly a prolific goalscorer but a hard worker for the team's cause and one who understood perfectly the ethic of this unique side.

  Holland clearly had a problem with the tall Swedish side, most notably the giant Ralf Edström, far too big for Rijsbergen to handle. Early in the match, a cross came to the Swedish danger man, as the fragile Dutch offside trap was broken, and Jongbloed was forced to punch clear. From the resultant corner, a long shot from Ove Grahn was well saved. At the other end, the Dutch began to assert themselves. Cruyff crossed from the right, for Neeskens to head over the bar, then Keizer and Cruyff combined, as in days of old, and Neeskens only just failed to connect with the low cross. Van Hanegem shot wide when it seemed easier to score, and Krol's long ball to Cruyff forced a good save out of goalkeeper Ronnie Hellström. Sweden hadn't dropped out of contention either, a long move down their left leading to Roland Sandberg blasting over. Meanwhile, Cruyff chipped the ball through to Neeskens, who volleyed wide in spectacular style, and Krol and Cruyff moved the ball down the right, the cross to Van Hanegem being headed clear. Rijsbergen was still having difficulty with Edström, and when the two collided with elbows flailing the referee awarded a free-kick to Sweden: if it was a foul by the Dutch defender, it was an evil one indeed, but the video evidence is not conclusive. The kick drew another great save from Jongbloed, and Inge Ejderstedt missed a good chance soon after.

  The most notable feature of the game was the legendary "turn" by Cruyff, mesmerising the Swedish right-back Gunnar Olsson. Receiving the ball just outside the Swedish area, his control at first appeared to have let him down. Facing away from goal, he looked as if he was about to try and pass the defender on his left, going back away from the goal. But then, with the same right foot that appeared about to knock the ball backwards, he propelled the ball the other way, and, incredibly, swivelled his entire body in the same direction and took off to the luckless Olsson's right, towards the Swedish goal-line. Nothing came of the move (it was that sort of game), but the "Cruyff Turn" has been shown on television in this country for over two decades now, and we never get tired of seeing it. Anybody else trying this would have fallen over.

  Cruyff hadn't finished tormenting the Swedes down the left, and his low cross was sent over the bar by Rep. Neeskens ran from the deep, but his effort went high too. Keizer sent an inspired early ball to Cruyff, who was taken out by Björn Nordqvist, to earn the first caution of the day. In a later era, the card would have been red, not yellow. Right on half-time, Cruyff was shepherded out to the left, but broke free of his markers and cut inside, but the referee, generally quite impressive, erred badly by calling play back for a free-kick to Holland at the edge of the penalty area, when a propitious use of the advantage rule would have left Cruyff with the ball at his feet running into the box. The first half had been good entertainment, but the game needed a goal.

  The day after this game, Johan Neeskens signed for Barcelona, the club of his international manager Michels of course, another body blow to the Ajax team, and the kind of situation that could have led to insoluble problems among the squad. It is a lasting tribute to the players' professionalism, and Michels's leadership, that the team continued to get better rather than fade away into jealousy and acrimony.