China vs. Netherlands: 6 Things We Learned from International Friendly

Netherlands finished their 2012-13 season with a 2-0 win over China in Beijing on Tuesday, thanks to goals from Robin van Persie and Wesley Sneijder.

Although the Oranje were missing some regulars in action at the European Under-21 Championship, they still presented strong lineups on their Asian tour.

China, then, will be reasonably pleased with their performance, having played 77 minutes of the encounter with 10 men following the early dismissal of midfielder Qin Sheng.

Let's take a look at six things learned from the money-spinning international friendly.

China Are Better Than Their 95th in the World Ranking

The topic of why Chinese football has failed to develop as hoped has been discussed at great length, but the simple truth is that this is a better side than their 95th in the world ranking suggests.

They have won just one of their last 10 games, which is a great worry. But, once more against Netherlands, they showed good composure on the ball and that they have some talented players.

Rash decisions in defence once more cost the side, while coach Jose Camacho's selection policies consistently defy logic based on performances of players for club and country.

Two more games have been lost this week, against Uzbekistan and Netherlands, but there have been plenty of positives.

They were never expected to win on this occasion, but the Uzbekistan game was eminently winnable. A rotated side, sloppy defence and strange substitutions, though, once more led to a loss in a game where they should have achieved much more.

Netherlands Have Incredible Strength in Depth

With Netherlands deciding to move several regular first-team players to the European Under-21 Championship (pictured above), it makes the strength of side they were able to offer against China even more impressive.

Even with more than 10 players missing, the fact that the likes of Jonathan de Guzman, Siem de Jong, Dwight Tiendalli and Miquel Nelom were on hand to deputise says much about the strength of Dutch football.

That is before considering the major stars on show in the form of Robin van Persie, Arjen Robben and Wesley Sneijder. Given the number of absentees, they still offered a mightily impressive squad.

China Must Control Their Physicality

It has become a stereotypical view of the Chinese game in Asia that they tend to lose their heads when behind.

On this occasion, they remained calm and collected throughout, but they were overly physical from the start.

With international referees, such challenges are asking for trouble, and when midfielder Qin Sheng was sent off in the early minutes, he could have no complaints about the refereeing.

The Chinese side have some well-built players who are able to mix it up physically with their European counterparts, but they must remember that being overly physical will cost them dearly.

Centre-back Li Xuepeng was lucky not to see a second yellow for a late tackle on Siem de Jong in the second half, in what was a moment of stupidity given his team's predicament.

Arjen Robben Is in Fine Form

Coming off the back of an impressive end to the season with treble winners Bayern Munich, Arjen Robben continued his fine form by winning a penalty, providing an assist and striking the crossbar on Tuesday evening.

With the China defence ripped to shreds, Robben was felled by the desperate tackle of right-back Zhang Linpeng for the opening goal.

However, impressive Guangzhou Evergrande defender Zhang would recover to give Robben a good workout for the remainder of the encounter. The Bayern man was, though, diligent in his defensive work.

Given space on the left late on, Robben supplied the ball for Sneijder to score a magnificent backheeled goal, while he also tested goalkeeper Zeng Cheng on more than one occasion.

For a player who is persistently written off, Robben has an incredible ability to bounce back, and has done so magnificently in 2013.

Zeng Cheng Has the Potential to Be a Leading Asian Goalkeeper

His place in the team has come under threat in recent months, with many in China preferring Shanghai Shenhua goalkeeper Wang Dalei as first choice.

However, since making the switch to join champions Guangzhou Evergrande in January, Chinese No. 1 Zeng Cheng has been close to flawless. Against Netherlands, he once more gave a demonstration of his potential.

Besides a fine one-on-one save from forward Jeremain Lens, Zeng also produced a fine reaction save to Robben in the second half, before tipping a dipping Sneijder shot over the bar.

In general play, he was well organised as he punched crosses powerfully clear and came quickly off his line to prevent shots on goal. The game was very much a demonstration of his performances all season at club level.

Should he continue in such a manner for both club and country, there is a big possibility that the 25-year-old could be Europe-bound in the future.

The Oranje Are a Popular Side in China

While the picture above was not taken from this evening's game, the Workers Stadium in Beijing was awash with orange for the visit of Netherlands to the Chinese capital.

With players like Van Persie and Robben hugely popular for their exploits at club level, many Chinese fans had chosen to turn up decked out in opposition colours for the occasion.

There were also many foreign residents who had turned up for the chance to see some of world football's leading stars in action.

The visit of the Oranje side can only add to their popularity, with the players having received a warm welcome upon arrival at both airport and hotel earlier this week.

With a growing trend of footballing cooperation between the two countries, with Ajax having been scheduled to play a fixture in Beijing this summer also, their popularity can only continue to increase among the Chinese football community.