Marco van Basten is planning to put his Holland side through their penalty paces in readiness for their testing World Cup encounter against Portugal on Sunday.

The Dutch coach rested five players on yellow cards, including Chelsea's Arjen Robben, as his side last night drew 0-0 against Argentina, both having already qualified from Group C.

Then he looked forward to a potentially tight match against Luis Felipe Scolari's side.

Said Van Basten: "They are an excellent team but we are not too bad either. I think it is time to start experimenting with some penalties."

If the Dutch progress, potentially they would meet England in the quarter-finals if, that is, Sven-Goran Eriksson's side also get past Ecuador in Stuttgart on Sunday.

Argentina, meanwhile, were concerned about a knee injury suffered by midfielder Esteban Cambiasso.

Coach Jose Pekerman said: "I am worried because he is a player who is very important for us. We will see what the doctors say and hope it is not really serious. It would hurt us very much if he was not ready."

Other than that, Pekerman was delighted with his team's progress so far in topping Group C on goal difference, although he insisted they would be giving last-16 opponents Mexico every respect.

Said Pekerman: "They are a good side who always score goals. They have good players and it is important we play at our best."

Pekerman also left out key players such as captain Juan Sorin, Javier Saviola and Hernan Crespo against Holland but teenager Lionel Messi was handed his first start at this World Cup and 22-year-old Carlos Tevez was named man of the match.

Said Pekerman: "We could have won. We had more scoring opportunities. The players did a good job and I'm satisfied."