Dirk Kuyt of the Netherlands (top right) heads the ball past Mexico's Carlos Salcido and Claudio Suarez (left) during their international friendly soccer match in Eindhoven, the Netherlands June 1, 2006. (Xinhua/Reuters)

The Netherlands on Thursday struck twice early in the second half to offset Jared Borgetti's opening goal and beat Mexico 2-1 in a World Cup warm-up in eastern Dutch city of Eindhoven.

Mexico took the lead on 19 minutes when their sole striker Borgetti headed home a Pavel Pardo corner.

However, John Heitinga equalized eight minutes into the second half and Ryan Babel sealed the win four minutes later.

Netherlands coach Marco van Basten used the match to test out his reserves after his first choice team beat Cameroon 1-0 last Saturday.

"We used the last two matches to evaluate the players on this level," said Van Basten.

"I am pleased that this team beat a good World Cup competitor like Mexico," he added.

The Dutch, who host Australia on Sunday in their final warm-up match, start their World Cup campaign on June 11 against Serbia and Montenegro.