Colombia draw with 10-man Netherlands

The Netherlands and Colombia drew 0-0 in a football friendly here with the Dutch playing with 10 men for 55 minutes after a red card for Jeremain Lens.

After a disappointing performance against Japan Saturday in Genk (2-2), the Dutch needed a good result against Colombia, which beat Belgium 2-0 Thursday in Brussels, reports Xinhua.

Dutch head coach Louis van Gaal lined-up 21-year-old Ajax defender Joel Veltman as debutant alongside Ron Vlaar in the centre of defence. Gregory van der Wiel returned for the first time since Euro 2012.

Colombia's Argentine coach Jose Pekerman chose captain and star player Radamel Falcao up front.

The Dutch started well with Rafael van der Vaart hitting the crossbar. The next major danger was created by the Colombians. Teofilo Gutierrez scored but his goal was denied due to offside.

In the 35th minute Dutch forward Lens received a red card for pushing Pablo Armero, who tried to kick Lens. Things got worse for the home team after van der Vaart and Siem de Jong limped off with injuries at half-time. They were replaced by Leroy Fer and Luciano Narsingh.

In the second half, Colombia were not able to break the 10-man Dutch defence, although they created some chances. The first ever encounter between the two countries ended in a stalemate, meaning the Netherlands remain unbeaten in 2013.