Van man looks like Rolls Royce

Now, though, everyone down there just mutually congratulates and praises everyone else with Van Nistelrooy, by all accounts, leading the love-in. Coach Dick Advocaat, who himself seems to have finally managed to stem the tide of criticism back home which even had one TV pundit at one point suggesting he should be hanged or stoned, loves about Van Nistelrooy is his workaholic selflessness for the cause and the way he gees up the squad.

"His playing for the team has been incredible," says Advocaat.

"He's not just scoring goals but working his socks off. He's desperate to get the result he wants, to get to the final and probably to be the winning goal scorer."

It is an example which has rubbed off on his team-mates. Arjen Robben, Chelsea's new boy who has made such an impact here, follows Van Nistelrooy with his cheerleading, often turning to the fantastic massed orange hordes during games and demanding they pump up the volume. The partnershipis thriving and Van Nistelrooy appears to love the kid. "Look at that Robben," he said after the Sweden game. "Nothing was decided and he says suddenly that he wants to take that sixth penalty. A boy of 20 just does it. That attitude has imprinted on this team."

So much so that egos have been pushed aside.

Both Van Nistelrooy and Patrick Kluivert will celebrate their 28th birthdays tomorrow and you know it must be hard for the strutting Barcelona man to celebrate when, despite his amazing record of 40 goals in 79 internationals, he suddenly finds himself only third-choice striker behind Van Nistelrooy and Roy Makaay now.

Yet Advocaat simply hails the "impressively positive" attitude of a difficult customer like Kluivert, who just the other week was disagreeing with the coach's lone-striker tactic and saying he deserved any criticism he received.

Scolari recognises a totem when he sees one.

"Van Nistelrooy is dangerous. He gets a chance, we can't expect him to miss," he shrugged, before even being reduced to alerting referee Anders Frisk to the idea that the Dutchman takes up offside positions at free-kicks.

Of course, the Brazilian World Cup-winning coach, who once ordered his players to kick the opposition, would never revert to such underhand stuff.

Here, they don't believe Portugal will need anything other than destiny, fuelled by their own irresistible momentum, to carry them to the final. "The Dutch have moments of brilliance but sometimes they lose their way," said

Portugal midfielder Deco. "I believe we are better than them."

Maybe, but they don't have an orange van man.