European Championship Qualifiers: Sigurdsson double means the Dutch are in trouble

The Dutch humiliation was largely self-inflicted

Saul Brookfield
Monday 13 October 2014 19:27 EDT
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Guus Hiddink’s wretched return as Netherlands coach continued last night as they lost 2-0 to Iceland in Reykjavik, their second straight away defeat in Euro 2016 qualifiers.

The Dutch humiliation was largely self-inflicted, starting with the penalty Gregory van der Wiel needlessly conceded in the 10th minute with a mistimed challenge. Swansea’s Gylfi Sigurdsson gave Iceland the lead from the spot and, after a half largely dominated by the visitors, doubled their advantage in the 42nd minute, lashing the ball in from 10 yards after the Netherlands defence failed to deal with a corner.

Hiddink’s side pushed hard in the second half but barely created a clear-cut chance and are now six points behind Iceland and the Czech Republic in Group A.

In Wales’s group, B, Bosnia -Herzegovina and Belgium shared a 1-1 draw, Manchester City’s Edin Dzeko giving the home side the lead only for a mistake by Stoke keeper Asmir Begovic to gift Radja Nainggolan a 51st-minute equaliser.

Southampton’s Graziano Pelle scored Italy’s only goal on his debut as the Azzurri scraped a 1-0 victory over Malta, both sides finishing with 10 men.

Norway brought on 15-year-old midfielder Martin Odegaard in their 2-1 win over Bulgaria, a new European Championship record for the youngest player.

Luis Suarez got his first goals since returning following his biting ban, scoring twice in Uruguay’s 3-0 win over Oman in Al-Buraimi.

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