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By Theo Ruizenaar
ROTTERDAM, Netherlands, May 24 (Reuters) - Netherlands beat Ukraine 3-0 in a Euro 2008 warm up on Saturday with a solid midfield performance from Orlando Engelaar.
Dirk Kuyt opened the scoring with a well-placed header midway through the first half and playmaker Rafael van der Vaart set up Klaas Jan Huntelaar seven minutes before the interval to double the lead.
After 63 minutes, Van der Vaart showed his brilliance again when a 50-metre pass set up substitute Ryan Babel to score the third goal with a chip over goalkeeper Vyacheslav Kernozenko seconds after the winger had come on.
"I am satisfied with the result and some phases we played good football, although we have to realise that our opponents are not preparing for a major tournament," coach Marco van Basten told reporters.
In the absence of several key players, Engelaar seized his chance to cement a place in the squad with a good performance as holding midfielder.
"Engelaar played well tonight and we only can be satisfied about his performance. His positional play was good and he is closing in to become a starter," Van Basten said.
Kuyt, who was dropped by Van Basten for the previous two friendlies, made a strong return on the right wing with his trademark combativeness.
Van Basten, who must name his definitive 23-man squad for the June 7-29 tournament in Austria and Switzerland by Wednesday, said: "Tomorrow I will announce two names who will be dropped from the squad.
"And later this week one of the three defenders, Khalid Boulahrouz, Andre Ooijer and Mario Melchiot, will be dropped but therefore we have to see if Melchiot has recovered sufficiently."
The Dutch will host Denmark on Thursday in Eindhoven and end their preparations against Wales in Rotterdam on June 1 before travelling to Switzerland where they start their Euro campaign against world champions Italy on June 9. They also face France and Romania in Group C. (Editing by Rex Gowar)
