The Netherlands have made a sluggish start to their Euro 2012 preparations after they succumbed to a shock defeat to Bulgaria in Amsterdam.

Bert van Marwijk named a strong starting XI, including Arsenal forward Robin van Persie, Tottenham Hotspur playmaker Rafael van der Vaart and Inter Milan's Wesley Sneijder.

However, his players failed to gel as an attacking force and played out a dire opening 44 minutes, before Sneijder found Van Persie with a through ball in stoppage time and the Gunners hitman fired his side into an undeserved half-time lead.

Holland began the second half in similarly sloppy fashion and Bulgaria levelled the scores on 50 minutes.

Van der Vaart handled in his own penalty area and Ivelin Popov slammed home the resultant spot kick.

Despite the hosts being dominant in possession, they failed to create any clear-cut chances to win the game and they were punished in stoppage time as Stanislav Manolev's whipped cross was headed home by Ilijan Micanski.

The result was Holland's first home defeat in 20 matches.