MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
Holland edge closer to Euro '08 qualification
Holland are virtually certain to qualify for the 2008 European Championships after an unimpressive 2-0 victory over Slovenia. The Dutch need just two points against the bottom teams Luxembourg and Belarus to be certain of qualification.
Greece the reigning European Champions, Romania, Czechoslovakia and Germany confirmed their qualification for the Championships in Austria/Switzerland, but England's hopes hang on a thread after losing 2-1 to Russia in Moscow, despite scoring first through Wayne Rooney. England must now hope that Israel can help them out by beating or drawing with the Russians when they meet next month, while England have to beat Croatia in London – not an easy task. Whistles, slow handclapping and calls for the Youth team coach Foppie de Haan unsettled the Dutch players in Eindhoven, who resorted to 'safety first' tactics in the 2nd half, being content to retain possession of the ball as opposed to going for goal. On many occasions the ball was passed from one orange shirt to another before being transferred back into their own half by the Dutch. Wesley Sneijder had given Holland the lead in the 13th minute after a bad defensive mistake by a Slovenian player who under-hit a back pass to his goalkeeper allowing Sneijder to nip in and slot the ball past Handanovic. Sneijder also hit the post after receiving the ball from the veteran Clarence Seedorf who has been restored to the team by coach Marco van Basten. Demy de Zeeuw hit the ball too high and Seedorf shot wide of the post after several quick passing moves cut open the Slovenian defence. Coach Marco van Basten seemed unconcerned by the crowds reaction saying during a Press Conference that "the midfield players became tired after their exertions in Romania three days previously on a heavy pitch, and the loss of three influential players through injury during the game had left his team with no option other than to hold the ball and not risk losing a goal". Captain Rafael van der Vaart of HSV Hamburg, Arsenal's Robin van Persie and Real Madrid player Arjen Robben all left the field with injuries. Van Basten cooly explained that "the plan had been to go on the offensive and for the first 45 minutes that had happened and the spectators had received a nice show, but then the tactics had to be changed. Sometimes that happens in football and you can not always entertain the crowd and the result becomes more important" he said. The second goal came in the 86th minute when Liverpool's Ryan Babel, a 2nd half substitute, evaded the Slovenian defence, who were expecting an 'off-side' call, beat the goalkeeper, but unselfishly passed the ball to striker Klaas Jan Huntelaar who had the easy task of rolling the ball into the empty net. Huntelaar had toiled all night without too much success, and he was relieved to get his name on the score sheet. Babel could have made it 3-0 in the 90th minute but after a mazy run in which he beat three opposing players his weak shot was easily saved by Handanovic, who plays for Udinese in Italy. The Slovenians best chance had fallen to Mitja Morec who headed the ball wide following a rare mistake by the Dutch defence. England only had themselves to blame for their defeat in Moscow. Trying to hold on to a 1-0 lead in the 2nd half they retreated further and further into defence with 9 men back, unnecessarily giving the attacking advantage to the Russians. The Russians first goal was a penalty conceded by striker Rooney who, back defending, was alleged to have pulled the shirt of a Russian player. Pavlijoetsjenko scored from the kick in the 69th minute. The second goal followed a series of defensive errors with English players getting in each others way and the ball rebounding from one to another before Pavlijoetsjenko poked the ball past the despairing English goalkeeper Robinson. England's hopes of qualifying for the finals in Austria/Switzerland 7-29 June 2008 are virtually over, although coach Steve McLaren refused to admit defeat, saying that the Russians would find playing Israel a difficult fixture. Patrick Watts, MercoPress Correspondent - Europe
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