Dutch on verge of missing out on Euro 2016

LONDON: Qualifying for the largest-ever European Championships was supposed to be easy.

With only two games left to play, however, the Netherlands are in danger of missing out, and Sweden striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic and his teammates are also close to elimination.

With eight qualifying rounds completed, only Austria, the Czech Republic, England and Iceland have definitely booked their places alongside hosts France next year.

The top two from the nine groups and the best third-place team qualify automatically and by next Tuesday, 20 of the 24 finalists will be known as will the eight teams going into the four playoffs being played in November.

A total of 52 international matches will kick-off between Thursday and next Tuesday with 32 nations still having hopes of reaching the finals while 17 countries are definitely eliminated.

And the Dutch are in serious trouble in Group ‘A’, facing the real possibility of failing to qualify for the finals for the first time since 1984.

With Iceland and the Czech Republic already qualified, Turkey lead the Netherlands by two points, have a better head-to-head record but face a difficult trip to Prague to take on the Czechs on Saturday, while the Dutch make the long trip east where Kazakhstan await Danny Blind’s side.

Three days later, the Dutch will return home to host the Czech Republic in Amsterdam while Turkey entertain Iceland.

Turkey have been boosted by the inclusion of Galatasaray striker Burak Yilmaz, scorer of four goals in six qualifiers, in Fatih Terim’s squad having recovered in time from a hamstring injury.

The Dutch, meanwhile, have a long injury list to contend with.

Captain Arjen Robben has not recovered from a groin injury while also out injured are Daryl Janmaat, Davy Klaassen, Quincy Promes, Ron Vlaar and Stefan de Vrij.

None of the other major nations look like missing out.

World champions Germany, reigning champions Spain, Italy, World Cup 2018 hosts Russia and Portugal are all close, while Northern Ireland are just a win away from their first major tournament since the 1986 World Cup in Mexico.

Germany can seal qualification with a game to spare if Joachim Loew’s men avoid defeat away to the Republic of Ireland in Group ‘D’ on Thursday while Spain are a Group ‘C’ win away from clinching direct qualification.

A win against Luxembourg could settle it on Friday for Vicente del Bosque’s side. Two points behind Spain, Slovakia will also qualify if they win either of their remaining matches against Belarus and Luxembourg.

Italy also need one win from their final two Group ‘H’ matches to secure qualification.

The Azzurri have a two-point lead over Norway, who they face in their last qualifying match on Tuesday. First up, though, is a trip to Azerbaijan on Saturday.

“We will try to seal qualification first time round in order to avoid a must-win game against Norway,” said Italy coach Antonio Conte. “The team is improving but Azerbaijan are a good side and it won’t be easy.”

Portugal are in pole position to advance as winners of the only five-team group and can do so by beating second-placed Denmark, who are three points behind and have played one game more, in Braga on Thursday.

After failing to qualify in 13 previous attempts, Northern Ireland can secure a maiden appearance at the tournament with a win against Greece on Thursday. Northern Ireland lead Romania by one point in Group ‘F’, with Hungary three points further back.

“Two draws or one win does us,” Northern Ireland midfielder Stuart Dallas said. “At the same time, Hungary know they need to get maximum points from their two remaining games, which is no easy task.”

Nowhere perhaps is the excitement running as high as in Wales, who need just one point from their final two Group ‘B’ matches against Bosnia and minnows Andorra to reach their first major tournament since the 1958 World Cup finals in Sweden.

Manager Chris Coleman has overseen a dramatic rise in Welsh fortunes since he took over from the late Gary Speed in January 2012 with them rising to their highest ever position of eighth in the FIFA world rankings.

Coleman has the good fortune that the world’s most expensive player Gareth Bale is Welsh, and the Real Madrid player, who has scored six goals in eight qualifiers and was named Wales Footballer of the Year for the fifth successive time on Tuesday, is relishing the chance to go to France.

“We’re close to achieving something that no other (Wales) team has done before and we’re all excited by that,” Bale said when he collected his award.

“We know what we have at stake, but we’re keeping calm and we know what we have to do. We’re only focussed on Bosnia, not Andorra, and we want to get the job done as soon as possible.”

Belgium, third in the FIFA rankings, are one point behind Wales and four in front of Israel and will qualify if they beat Andorra on Saturday which should be a formality.

Austria have Group ‘G’ sewn up but there’s an intense battle developing for the second qualifying berth with Russia, Sweden and Montenegro all still harbouring hopes of automatic qualification. Russia sit second, two points above Sweden, with Montenegro one further back.

Fixtures (1845GMT unless stated):

Thursday:

Group ‘D’: Georgia v Gibraltar (1600); Ireland v Germany; Scotland v Poland.

Group ‘F’: Hungary v Faroe Islands; Northern Ireland v Greece; Romania v Finland.

Group ‘I’: Albania v Serbia; Portugal v Denmark.

Friday:

Group ‘C’: Macedonia v Ukraine; Slovakia v Belarus; Spain v Luxembourg.

Group ‘E’: England v Estonia; Slovenia v Lithuania; Switzerland v San Marino.

Group ‘G’: Liechtenstein v Sweden; Moldova v Russia; Montenegro v Austria.

Saturday:

Group ‘A’: Iceland v Latvia (1600); Kazakhstan v Netherlands (1600); Czech Republic v Turkey (1845).

Group ‘B’: Andorra v Belgium; Bosnia v Wales; Israel v Cyprus.