Nijmegen defeated Udinese 2-0 in Holland to secure their passage through to the last 32 of the UEFA Cup but the Italians were also left smiling at the final whistle.  The guests needed a result to guarantee they would top the group but with Spurs slipping up in London the nine points Udinese had already gained were sufficient.  Udinese will be pleased with their effort over the short campaign and their success in Europe has been a stark contrast to their recent struggles in the domestic league.  They made a number of changes in this game to protect players for the forthcoming tie against Milan but the performance was dismal and they can have few complains about getting beat. Nijmegen will be delighted with their effort both over this 90 minutes and the previous European games and they can feel they earned their spot in the next round.

The home side were without Radomski and Worm in the midfield and attack but played a 4-3-3 as they looked to take the game to their opponents.  Despite having three attackers on the pitch from the beginning, it was a substitute who changed the game with Collins John coming off the bench at half time to increase the tempo and he made the crucial breakthrough with just 15 minutes remaining.  Udinese left some players out but also changed from their traditional 4-3-3 to a 4-4-2 system.  Neither Quagliarella or Di Natale were used in the attack so Floro Flores and Sanchez were the forward partnership.  Isla returned to the midfield after injury while Obodo, Nef and Motta joined him with D'Agostino and Inler being left out.  Felipe stood in at the back four but went off injured after only 20 minutes.

Udinese were soon under pressure and Belardi, standing in for Handanovic, saved well from Van Beukering and then did equally well to block from Ntibazonkiza as the hosts turned the screw.  Bouauzan blazed over when he really should have scored and when Schone copied him by firing high above the bar it was clear Udinese needed to step up a level.  They went in level at the break more through luck than skill but things failed to improve much in the second period.  There were a number of scrambles in the Udinese box which they managed to clear and they almost took the lead when Floro Flores deflected home only to have his strike ruled out for handball.  NEC finally took the lead they deserved with 15 minutes remaining when John shot home with the aid of a deflection and when Van Beukering prodded over the line following a corner shortly afterwards the game was done and dusted.

This was a deserved win for the home side as their urgency showed throughout the 90 minutes and they were the only team who really wanted to take the three points.  Udinese will rightly point out that having already qualified they were at liberty to take things easy and with Spurs failing to overtake them in the standings their gamble more than paid off as they still topped the group regardless.