Netherlands are the first European side to qualify for the 2014 World Cup after a double from Robin van Persie saw them beat Andorra 2-0.
- By Michael Bell
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The first half was one of frustration, with Louis van Gaals men with most of the ball, but unable to open the scoring from a number of chances.
Robin Van Persie had a powerful shot blocked in the box, by what looked like the arm of the Andorra defender, but no penalty was given. Wesley Sneijder also had a great opportunity inside the box, but his low shot was saved, before the midfielder saw a header go just wide.
On 33 minutes, a dangerous free kick just outside the box was taken by Van Persie, but the ball drifted just wide of the left hand post.
Andorra weren’t just camped in their own half, as they had a free header from a corner, which just cleared Michael Vorm’s bar.
Five minutes into the second half, Netherlands had the lead, when Robin van Persie picked up the ball outside the box, before curling an effort into the top corner.
The Manchester United forward then doubled the lead four minutes later, as he capitalised on a spilled ball by the Andorra keeper to cooly finish into the net.
Van Persie had chances to seal his hat-trick but scuffed a shot wide inside the box, before seeing his header fly just wide.
The Netherlands won’t be happy with their performance, especially the first half, but they are now assured of their place in Brazil next year, thanks to Turkey’s 2-0 win over Romania, meaning no side in group D can catch them.
The real work for Louis van Gaal now begins as he seeks the best eleven to take to next summers World Cup.
Does anyone know the health status of Narsingh and Afellay? They would be good additions. Also they need to keep the pedal down as they want to ensure they can a be number 1 seed. If they lose one of their next 2 games they may fall out of FIFA’s top 10 rankings. Time to give Castaignos a run.