HINTERZARTEN, Germany -- Marco Van Basten was right all along.

Throughout the World Cup, the Netherlands coach kept stressing the need for his young team "to make progress," and to "continue growing."

During Sunday's 1-0 loss to Portugal, the Dutch proved they were still an immature bunch.

Even the rookie World Cup coach made some strange decisions in the clutch.

After the brutal foul-fest against Portugal, Van Basten claimed the only difference between the teams was the mean streets soccer savvy displayed by the opposition.

So why did he leave perhaps his most savvy player, Premier League striker Ruud van Nistelrooy, frustrated on the bench? All this despite the Manchester United forward's proven record of scoring when it counts.

The moment when the Dutch campaign unraveled actually came Thursday when Van Basten started an impromptu session of criticism of Van Nistelrooy, who he removed less than an hour into the 0-0 first-round draw with Argentina.

After an uneasy heart-to-heart with the striker at training camp, nothing was the same. "Van the Man," as he is known for his scoring proficiency in England, did not get a second of play Sunday in the Franken Stadium.

"It is awful sitting on the bench," Van Nistelrooy said.

Instead, Van Basten played Dutch league players Dirk Kuyt and Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink, both untested at such a level.

The result was ugly, scrappy play that was ineffective. It was everything Van Basten was not as a player: lethal, joyful and elegant.

And it also did a lot to damage the reputation "Oranje" had built at the World Cup since Johan Cruyff led his team to the 1974 final with free-flowing soccer. Sunday's game was one of the dirtiest in World Cup history and the Dutch certainly did their part.

At this World Cup, the joke has been that the Germans played like the Dutch of old and Oranje like the Mannschaft. The problem is, Germany has a habit of winning in the last minute. The Dutch don't.

Van Basten, however, has come a long way since the team lost to Portugal in the 2004 European Championship semifinals. Sunday's loss was his first in a competitive game with the Netherlands.

He lost a slew of veterans from the 2004 team and began rebuilding.

"Two years ago, we started out again with a lot of new players and it has been a great experience," Van Basten said.

From the start, he said that the 2008 European Championship was his target and, now, he's sticking to that.

"This has given us a lot of experience for 2008. A lot still has to improve," the coach said.

Methodically, he stuck with a 4-3-3 system that should provide exciting, attacking soccer. Instead, the defense has been the team's backbone. In four World Cup games, the Dutch allowed only two goals despite sometimes relying on players with only a handful of international appearances.

The midfield has been problematic, with players having difficulty to switch from defense to attack. The wings showed great promise. Arjen Robben was twice man of the match and Robin van Persie also had a major impact early on.

When things got rough against Portugal on Sunday, though, both were ineffective.

Veteran goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar and midfielder Cocu, both pushing 36, could well retire after the World Cup. But, as always, the Dutch have plenty of young players on the way up. The country's under-21 squad won the European title and Van Basten was already criticized for not taking promising center forward Klaas Huntelaar to Germany.

Van Basten is expected to continue the rejuvenation process.

"We chose a new way, new players. We played some good games and had some good moments against big opponents," Van Basten said.

In the end, though, it was a short, often ugly stay.