It would be “a great feeling, later” to reflect on reaching triple figures, Van Persie said, as he prepared for the very long journey home from Astana, Kazakhstan, his Holland having won 2-1 in their penultimate Euro2016 qualifier.
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With Turkey playing later on Saturday, the Dutch moved into third place in Group A chasing a playoff spot, with the top two positions, which ensure automatic qualification, already filled by Iceland and the Czech Republic.
Already-qualified Iceland squandered a two-goal lead to draw 2-2 with Latvia.
Behind him, the ever-flagging Wesley Sneijder will try and create but it all seems a bit tired and uninspiring.
Luck, according to Wesley Sneijder, whose second-half goal in Astana effectively kept Holland in the last chance saloon, is what they have not had since Van Gaal’s second stint ended. If we are to talk about goals for the upcoming two matches, there is no coach that will tell his team that they will lose.
First there was a 0-1 home loss to Iceland before they crumbled in Turkey, enduring a painful and humbling 3-0 defeat.
The Netherlands has not missed a major tournament since the 2002 World Cup.
The Dutch will scrap today for a chance of a late backdoor entry into the largest, easiest-to-reach European championship in history.
Danny Blind’s men now sit fourth in Group A with just 13 points from nine encounters and need a favourable set of results to qualify for the play-offs for next year’s finals in France. “But the victory was the important thing”.
Netherlands’ Georginio Wijnaldum, right, fights for the ball with…
In reference to the two injured goalkeepers, the 32-year-old added: “What is worse is that Tim Krul is likely to have a serious knee injury and Jasper Cillessen is also out”.
Striker Robin van Persie was again left on the bench for a third successive game by Blind but came on for the final four minutes to win his 100th cap.
They lack “tactical education”, have “no depth to their play and no movement”, he wrote.
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The Newcastle midfielder found the bottom corner from outside the box with a left-footed drive after good work by El Ghazi.
