Dutch rout Latvia, Italy held
18 Nov 2014 10:41 PM GMT
The outstanding Arjen Robben and Klaas-Jan Huntelaar both scored twice with captain Robin van Persie and Jeffrey Bruma also on target as the Oranje claimed just their second win in four games in Group A.
Hiddink, in his second spell as Dutch coach, had indicated he would resign if his side suffered another disappointing result after suffering four defeats in their five games since finishing third at the World Cup in Brazil under his predecessor Louis van Gaal.
However, Latvia had mustered just two points and scored only one goal in their opening three qualifiers for the finals in France and an upset never looked on the cards in a one-sided encounter at the Amsterdam ArenA. Hiddink made five changes to the side that started the 3-2 friendly defeat to Mexico at the same venue in midweek and sent out a team with fearsome attacking potential.
Ibrahim Afellay, the Barcelona player on loan at Greek champions Olympiakos, fired the first warning shot with an effort that hit the post just two minutes in, and the opening goal arrived four minutes later. A neat move ended with Robben’s left-footed cross from the right flank for van Persie to head past Latvia’s veteran goalkeeper Aleksandrs Kolinko and score his 49th goal for the Netherlands.
There was a brief scare for the hosts when Valerijs Sabala was left unmarked in the penalty box but could only head wide, before Manchester United midfielder Daley Blind hurt his knee and was forced off to be replaced by Jordy Clasie. However, Holland continued to create chances and they doubled their lead 10 minutes before the interval as Robben and van Persie combined once again.
Bayern Munich winger Robben cut in from the right and exchanged passes with van Persie before beating Kolinko with a superb curling strike from 25 yards.Huntelaar joined in the scoring three minutes prior to half-time, stabbing home a low Afellay cross from close range to equal the great Marco van Basten on 16 European Championship goals.
The traffic remained one-way in the second half and Robben hit the bar from a free-kick before Wesley Sneidjer’s left-wing corner in the 78th minute was headed on at the near post by van Persie for PSV Eindhoven defender Bruma to finish into an empty net. Robben, the best player on the field, then got his second of the evening with a left-footed strike from just inside the area eight minutes from the end. And Schalke striker Huntelaar put the seal on the win a minute from time, collecting a Clasie pass before smashing in a low shot on the turn.
Croatia flare deflect glare from Azzurri
Italy were held to a 1-1 draw at home by Croatia in a heated Euro2016 qualifier which was halted in each half as fans threw missiles onto the pitch. Italy went ahead in the 11th minutes through Antonio Candreva who scored his first international goal, and Croatia’s Ivan Perisic hit the equaliser four minutes later on Sunday, reports Xinhua.
Dutch referee Bjorn Kuipers had to suspend play in both halves after visiting fans threw fireworks and smoke bombs onto the pitch. ‘It’s not easy against an experienced quality team who ran more than us. My side did not give up, they had the will to play, but they could have done more,’ said Italy head coach Antonio Conte.
Hiddink, in his second spell as Dutch coach, had indicated he would resign if his side suffered another disappointing result after suffering four defeats in their five games since finishing third at the World Cup in Brazil under his predecessor Louis van Gaal.
However, Latvia had mustered just two points and scored only one goal in their opening three qualifiers for the finals in France and an upset never looked on the cards in a one-sided encounter at the Amsterdam ArenA. Hiddink made five changes to the side that started the 3-2 friendly defeat to Mexico at the same venue in midweek and sent out a team with fearsome attacking potential.
Ibrahim Afellay, the Barcelona player on loan at Greek champions Olympiakos, fired the first warning shot with an effort that hit the post just two minutes in, and the opening goal arrived four minutes later. A neat move ended with Robben’s left-footed cross from the right flank for van Persie to head past Latvia’s veteran goalkeeper Aleksandrs Kolinko and score his 49th goal for the Netherlands.
There was a brief scare for the hosts when Valerijs Sabala was left unmarked in the penalty box but could only head wide, before Manchester United midfielder Daley Blind hurt his knee and was forced off to be replaced by Jordy Clasie. However, Holland continued to create chances and they doubled their lead 10 minutes before the interval as Robben and van Persie combined once again.
Bayern Munich winger Robben cut in from the right and exchanged passes with van Persie before beating Kolinko with a superb curling strike from 25 yards.Huntelaar joined in the scoring three minutes prior to half-time, stabbing home a low Afellay cross from close range to equal the great Marco van Basten on 16 European Championship goals.
The traffic remained one-way in the second half and Robben hit the bar from a free-kick before Wesley Sneidjer’s left-wing corner in the 78th minute was headed on at the near post by van Persie for PSV Eindhoven defender Bruma to finish into an empty net. Robben, the best player on the field, then got his second of the evening with a left-footed strike from just inside the area eight minutes from the end. And Schalke striker Huntelaar put the seal on the win a minute from time, collecting a Clasie pass before smashing in a low shot on the turn.
Croatia flare deflect glare from Azzurri
Italy were held to a 1-1 draw at home by Croatia in a heated Euro2016 qualifier which was halted in each half as fans threw missiles onto the pitch. Italy went ahead in the 11th minutes through Antonio Candreva who scored his first international goal, and Croatia’s Ivan Perisic hit the equaliser four minutes later on Sunday, reports Xinhua.
Dutch referee Bjorn Kuipers had to suspend play in both halves after visiting fans threw fireworks and smoke bombs onto the pitch. ‘It’s not easy against an experienced quality team who ran more than us. My side did not give up, they had the will to play, but they could have done more,’ said Italy head coach Antonio Conte.
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