Kuyt: Germany made Spain look good - we won't make the same mistake

Dirk Kuyt last night accused Germany of being scared of Spain - and promised Holland will expose their "weaknesses" in the World Cup final.

Liverpool forward Kuyt claims Germany made Spain look good in their semi final by being too defensive and promised the Dutch will not make the same mistake.

But Kuyt says Holland will go all-out attack against Spain and is confident they can defeat Vicente Del Bosque's red-hot favourites.

Kuyt said: "We are not afraid at all. You could see the Germans were afraid of Spain. They didn't try to attack. We are going to attack and then you will see weaknesses coming to the surface.

"If you play like the Germans you are definitely going to lose. We don't have players who are afraid and we don't have players who feel small against the big opponents. There is respect but not fear.

Kuyt has also warned Holland have the firepower to shoot down Spain despite their main striker, Robin van Persie, only scoring once so far.

Wesley Sneijder has bailed them out with five goals which makes him joint tournament top scorer with Spain's David Villa.

But Liverpool forward Kuyt has backed van Persie and says Holland do have enough goals in them to cause an upset against Spain in Sunday's final in Johannesburg.

Kuyt said: "Robin is a quality player. But in this World Cup it is very difficult for strikers to score goals, get some space and create chances. But one thing Robin does is work really hard. He is a team player. It is just difficult to create chances.

"In all the games we have played we have had more space on the sides. The players on the wings have scored the goals. But Robin is very important for us.

"People expected him to score five or six goals. He hasn't done that but the way he is playing he is still very important for us.

"Teams are well organised. Everyone knows Robin van Persie and players like Wayne Rooney and Fernando Torres. Everyone is struggling.

"If you see Villa, he is playing on the left and cutting inside and scoring a lot of goals. It looks like it is easier for players on the side to create chances and score."

It will be Kuyt's 62nd game on Sunday and his season has lasted 11 months but he says after the trials and tribulations at Liverpool, Holland can help him finish his campaign in real style.

Kuyt said: "It is really satisfying to end the season like this. It has been a really hard season. It was a really long season at Liverpool and mentally it has been tough. You play for Liverpool to win trophies and it did not happen. It was a long season.

"The Dutch manager gave me a week off after the Liverpool season so I could focus on this tournament. That was good for me. Afterwards I trained hard. I fought for my place in the team. I am enjoying myself now and here we are in the final.

"Dutch football is always very good. In every tournament we have played we have shown we have quality. In this tournament we have shown we have more than quality. We also have belief. We believe we can beat every opponent.

"Against Brazil we were 1-0 down but we still had the belief we could win. Against Uruguay, we were 1-0 up and they equalised. Sometimes in tournaments that have gone before we have lost it at that point. This time we stayed focused."

Kuyt has yet to speak to new Liverpool boss Roy Hodgson but has made it clear he wants to stay despite being linked with a move to join Rafa Benitez at Inter Milan.

Kuyt added: "Liverpool is a great club with a great history. Unfortunately in my four years I haven't won anything with Liverpool. Hopefully in the future I still have a chance to win something.

"We will have to see what happens. Hopefully the manager wants me to stay and we will see what the future brings.

"I spoke to people at the club and I know he (Hodgson) wants to speak with me. But it is very difficult at the moment because we are very busy and focused on the World Cup games we have to play."