The Netherlands didn't do much to ease concerns after their flameout from Euro 2012. They were sloppy, unorganized and opened the door for Turkey several times in Friday's 2014 World CUp qualifier. But despite their sloppy play, they did enough to win 2-0 and took three points from their opener qualifying match at Amsterdam Arena.
Netherlands Vs. Turkey, 2014 World Cup Qualifying: Final Score, Dutch Win 2-0
Robin van Persie got the Dutch off the mark in the 16th minute when he got free on a corner kick and headed home. To that point, the Netherlands was the better team and deserved the lead, but as soon as they scored they really struggled.
Turkey did well to pressure the Dutch midfield and they starting taking the ball away almost at will. The Netherlands defense wasn't particularly impressive either and one one occasion a miscommunication between Tim Krul and Bruno Martins would have resulted in a disastrous own goal if not for a great last minute clearance off the line by Martins.
For all of the Netherlands’ struggles, Turkey couldn’t quite make them pay. Arda Turan missed a golden opportunity in the first half and they failed to put shots on goal when the Dutch opened the door for them.
Finally, the Netherlands put things away late. Kevin Strootman hit a lovely long ball for Luciano Narsingh, who chipped the goalkeeper beautifully to seal up an impressive win, but a three points as good as any other for the Dutch.
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