The pictures for the downfall were mapped out.

A gray day with continuous rain in November.

An almost empty stadium due to the new restrictions imposed by the Rotterdam pandemic.

And a restricted trainer who is confined to a wheelchair and has to watch from a box.

So it would have fit into the dreary picture if the Dutch national soccer team had to go to the tricky playoffs on Tuesday evening after the duel with Norway or even missed participation in the World Cup in Qatar in a year's time.

But things turned out differently for Oranje.

Tobias Rabe

Responsible editor for Sport Online.

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With the 2-0 victory, which was confirmed after the late goals by Steven Bergwijn (84th minute) and Memphis Depay (90th + 1), the Elftal is one of 13 teams so far that are fixed for the finals, which will take place on 18 November 2022 in the emirate is qualified. That it was a nerve game for van Gaal and Co. in the end, the team had gotten themselves last Saturday. After a 2-0 lead in Montenegro, which would have been enough to qualify at the time, the Dutch lost their advantage and suddenly had their "final" against Norway.

The day after the shock, another was added.

The 70-year-old Bondscoach van Gaal fell badly while cycling after training.

He broke his hip.

An operation was not necessary, but the former Bayern coach is currently in a wheelchair.

At first it was considered that he should be pushed to the edge of the field in order to coach his players from the sidelines as usual.

But that was not the case, not least because the rain in Rotterdam fell relentlessly from the sky.

Van Gaal with notepad and cell phone

There were other considerations that led van Gaal, who watched the final training session on Monday from a golf cart and who led the meetings in the hotel and in the cabin as usual, into a box in the stands. The cabins and coaches' benches are not on the same side of the stadium at De Kuip Stadium in Rotterdam. Van Gaal should have been transported across the lawn with his wheelchair during the short half-time break. From the box, however, there was a quick connection to the cabin wing.

In any case, van Gaal was in constant contact with his assistant Danny Blind, the father of national player Daley, who was standing on the lawn, and Henk Fraser, who was equipped with earplugs and took the boss's instructions. So quick contact was ensured. The TV cameras kept catching Van Gaal, who was sitting in the stadium's open skybox with a jacket, notepad and mobile phone, well equipped. But what he saw from his elevated seat didn't necessarily make him calmer.

That was not because of the somewhat misplaced fog show that the organizers put on. It started when the players came in, possibly to take at least a little of the sadness of the atmosphere. After the increase in the corona numbers in the Netherlands, the government had imposed a partial lockdown, which also affected the game. Instead of 50,000 frenetic fans in Orange, only a few officials were scattered in the stands of the Feyenoord stadium. As usual from earlier pandemic times, every word of the players echoed across the square to the TV viewer.

They saw two very careful teams. The Dutch were obviously insecure and nervous, and a draw was enough for them to qualify for the World Cup. The Norwegians, who competed without the injured Dortmund star striker Erling Haaland, were simply too limited in their skills to be offensively dangerous. So it lasted until the final phase when the Scandinavians took more risks - and the Dutch finally struck with their class. Outside attacker Bergwijn took the lead and hung up for Memphis on a counterattack in stoppage time.

The visibly tense van Gaal was accordingly relieved after the game. "I complimented the team at halftime, but also told them to play a little more forward," said the coach on Dutch television after the game. The otherwise self-confident coach also gave insights into the difficult days before. “The mood was a little bad on the day after Montenegro, then I was afraid that it could go completely wrong.” But all in all, it was still a fantastic week. "We got to know each other through ups and downs."

Orange is therefore qualified for Qatar.

Van Gaal can now take care of his recovery.

But there are still a few construction sites to be done in a year's time before the world tournament.

Goalkeeper Jasper Cillessen played again for the first time in 13 months and was just unsteady with his foot during the game.

There are actually enough strong players on the offensive, but the one scorer is missing.

Wolfsburg's Wout Weghorst sat on the bench for 90 minutes.

The defense around Virgil van Dijk and Matthijs de Ligt is also well-known, but conceded a total of eight goals in qualifying.