Ronaldo brace, Dutch in trouble
Print Edition
WHILE Cristiano Ronaldo kept moving up Europe’s all-time scorers list on Saturday, a demoralizing loss to Bulgaria endangered the Netherlands’ World Cup qualification.
With two goals in Portugal’s 3-0 win over Hungary, Ronaldo moved into fourth place on the all-time scorers list for European nations. Ronaldo’s 70 in 137 appearances trail only Miroslav Klose (71), Sandor Kocsis (75) and Ferenc Puskas (84).
Porto striker Andre Silva opened the scoring after 30 minutes, converting a pass from Raphael Guerreiro for his fifth goal in six games for Portugal.
In Group A, teenager Matthijs de Ligt’s dream debut for the Netherlands quickly turned into a nightmare as he handed Bulgaria an early goal. Just five minutes into the match De Ligt let a speculative ball fall over his shoulder before he collided with goalkeeper Jeroen Zoet, allowing Spas Delev to tap in.
Delev made it 2-0 when he curled a shot past De Ligt’s attempted block and into the bottom corner of Zoet’s goal.
Injuries had forced coach Danni Blind to make the risky choice of De Ligt who, at 17, became the youngest Netherlands debutant since Mauk Weber in 1931. After the stunning loss, the manager took the blame. “I blame myself,” Blind said. “It can’t go on like this. Things have to change.”
The Netherlands, which failed to qualify for the European Championship last year, looks likely to struggle to reach the World Cup in Russia.
The Dutch football federation summoned Blind for talks.
“During an evening in which literally nothing went right, the Netherlands team lost 2-0 to Bulgaria” on Saturday, the federation said in a statement.
“It was a painful defeat in Sofia, during which the chances of the Netherlands qualifying for the World Cup diminished.”
“It is evident that we have to talk,” the Dutch federation’s commercial director Jean-Paul Decossaux told Dutch news agency ANP. “We might get quick answers, or we might not. But we have to take our time. Nothing good comes from rushing things.”
France stayed on top of the group with 13 points after beating Luxembourg 3-1 thanks to Olivier Giroud’s double and a penalty by Antoine Griezmann. Sweden is second with 10 points after thrashing Belarus 4-0. The Netherlands slid to fourth with seven points, behind Bulgaria with nine.
In group H, Romelu Lukaku saved Belgium’s place at the top of Group H, snatching a 1-1 draw in Brussels after being frustrated all night by an unyielding Greece defense. Lukaku chested down the fall and fired past goalkeeper Stefano Kapino with only two minutes of regular time remaining. Greece finished the game with nine men.
Belgium was left with 13 points to Greece’s 11.
Bosnia closed to 10 points after a 5-0 rout of Gibraltar. Estonia and Cyprus drew and have four points each.
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