Substitute Jermain Defoe scored twice to haul England back for a 2-2 draw in a friendly with the Netherlands on Wednesday.

The visitors were punished for defensive blunders as they fell 2-0 behind in the first half.

In the 10th minute Dirk Kuyt intercepted a sloppy backpass from Rio Ferdinand and the striker sidestepped goalkeeper Rob Green before scoring.

More poor defending by an England side struggling to create chances allowed the Dutch their second in the 37th minute when Rafael van der Vaart shot into an empty net after a Green save.

England improved greatly after the break and speedy substitute Defoe beat the Dutch defence to poke home before sliding in an equaliser with 13 minutes remaining.

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