Holland see off Belarus but need miracle after Sweden’s rout of Luxembourg

Holland’s chances of reaching the World Cup finals are almost certainly over, with Saturday night’s results meaning Dick Advocaat’s team need to beat Sweden by seven goals on Tuesday to reach the play-offs, while Bosnia-Herzegovina’s dramatic 4-3 home defeat by Belgium in Sarajevo had implications well beyond their hopes of finishing second in Group H.
The Dutch won 3-1 away to Belarus in Group A but look set to miss out on their second major tournament in a row because of their inferior goal difference. Sweden’s 8-0 thrashing of Luxembourg in Solna gives them a goal-difference superiority over Holland of 12 goals. The Al Ain striker Marcus Berg scored four times and the captain Andreas Granqvist converted a penalty in each half in the Swedes’ biggest victory since 1938.
In Barysaw the Brighton midfielder Davy Pröpper put Holland ahead against Belarus on 24 minutes but the defender Maksim Valadzko levelled 10 minutes into the second half. With time running out, Holland took the lead again through a penalty from Arjen Robben on 84 minutes before Memphis Depay made it 3-1 with a free-kick in stoppage time.
France remain top of Group A by one point after Blaise Matuidi’s early goal proved enough to secure a 1-0 victory away to Bulgaria. The Juventus midfielder lashed home an angled finish after three minutes in Sofia, which leaves Les Bleus with their fate in their own hands for the visit of Belarus on Tuesday.
With the worst runners-up missing out on a play-off place, Bosnia – who had dropped to bottom of the table of second-placed European teams after results on Thursday and Friday – lost control of their destiny. In Group H, Greece overtook them with a 2-1 win in Cyprus, while Belgium’s win immediately sent Italy through to the play-offs as one of the eight best runners-up, joining Portugal. Northern Ireland and Denmark now need single points from their final matches.
In a topsy-turvy game, Thomas Meunier gave Belgium an early lead but they trailed at half-time to goals from Haris Medunjanin and Edin Visca. Michy Batshuayi equalised on the hour before Jan Vertonghen put Belgium back ahead. Dario Djumic restored Bosnian hopes in the 82nd minute but less than a minute later Yannick Carrasco seized on sloppy defending to score the winner.
Nigeria became the first side from Africa to qualify, thanks to a 1-0 home win against Zambia. Arsenal’s Alex Iwobi scored with 17 minutes left in Uyo to establish a six-point advantage over the losers, who remain second in Group B, with one round of matches to go.
South Africa boosted their chances in perhaps the most contentious group in all continents, beating Burkina Faso 3-1.

SOURCE : GUARDIAN SPORTS
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