HOLLAND kept their slim World Cup hopes alive by defeating Bulgaria on Sunday – but they still need a miracle to reach Russia.
The Dutch bounced back from their 4-0 drubbing in France last week with a hard-fought 3-1 victory in Amsterdam. Brighton new-boy Davy Propper fired them ahead after just seven minutes as he finished from close-range following Manchester United defender Daley Blind’s low cross.
And Arjen Robben looked to have comfortably sealed the points an hour later as he made no mistake in firing home from another Blind pass.
But Bulgaria set-up a nervy finish when they pulled one back 120 seconds later through Georgi Kostadinov.
But Propper was on hand to ease the nerves as he secured the points with just over ten minutes remaining by heading home the third.
However, Holland are still left with a mountain to climb to reach next summer’s showpiece.
Although the result saw the Dutch overtake their opponents to move third in the table, they still need more than lady luck on their side when the qualifiers conclude next month. Sweden’s 4-0 victory in Belarus kept them three points ahead of Holland in second spot.
The Dutch travel to Belarus next while the Swedes, who also have a six-goal swing in their favour, face whipping boys Luxembourg.
Both nations will then come face-to-face in Amsterdam in the final group clash as they fight it out for a play-off spot. However, it is more than likely that Holland will have to overturn a mega goal-swing in order to topple their rivals.
Meanwhile, France can reclaim top spot later this evening when France meet bottom of the table Luxembourg.
From The Sun
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