Rotterdam (Netherlands) (AFP)
The Netherlands were late Thursday in Rotterdam to beat Northern Ireland (3-1) and take a step towards qualifying for Euro-2020 after two consecutive finals failed.
Ultra-dominators with over 70% possession, the Oranje have long stumbled on the North-Irish grouped in their area and exercising a stifling pressing in the middle.
They even thought for a while that they would be overtaken by their old demons and suffer the humiliation of a defeat. It was Northern Ireland's Josh Magennis who opened the score (75) with a header from close range, after errors in defense of Daley Blind and Mathijs de Ligt.
But the hopes of the young selection of Ronald Koeman came out of the trap. First by Memphis Depay, Lyon striker pushing deep into the ball well served in the surface (80th). Then by Luuk de Jong, who took the three points in the overtime (90th + 1).
Once the mass was said, Depay offered himself a double at the very end of the match (90 + 4).
What to blow for the Dutch, still traumatized by their successive failures to qualify for the Euro-2016 and the World-2018.
In the standings, they go back to the top of Group C, tied on points with Germany and Northern Ireland (12), and the calendar should in principle allow them to hold their place.
Because the Netherlands have already paid off against the other heavyweight of the group, Germany - with a win and a loss - and have one more game to play than Northern Ireland, their main competitor that they will see again in November.
In addition to the return match against the Netherlands, the Northern Irish finish the playoffs with a trip to Germany. The Dutch will have opportunities to take points against Belarus and Estonia.
© 2019 AFP