Swansea midfielder Gylfi Sigurdsson scored two goals in Reykjavik on Monday as Iceland pulled off a shock 2-0 defeat of the Netherlands in a European Championship qualifier to hand new coach Guus Hiddink his third loss in four matches since taking over after the World Cup.
It was Iceland’s first-ever victory over the Netherlands in 11 meetings.
The win kept Iceland perfect in three qualifiers and left them level atop Group A with the Czech Republic.
Photo: EPA
Sigurdsson scored twice before the break. He fired home from the spot in the 10th minute after Stefan de Vrij had brought down Birkir Bjarnason and volleyed powerfully into the roof of the net in the 42nd after the Netherlands defense failed to clear a corner.
“We put them in the saddle by giving them two goals,” winger Arjen Robben said.
“It really is painful that we lost here,” said Netherlands captain Robin van Persie, who was kept in check almost all night by a tight Iceland defense.
The second Iceland goal came after a spell of Netherlands pressure when Van Persie came close and Robben squandered a great chance by heading wide after a cross from the left by Daley Blind.
However, those chances were interspersed by sloppy passing and clumsy defending by a Netherlands team who appeared a shadow of the side that finished third at the World Cup.
“We have to keep our emotions in check and take a careful look at the state of Dutch football and then talk about how to progress,” Hiddink said.
Since the relatively successful tournament in Brazil, the Netherlands have lost a friendly to Italy, lost to the Czech Republic, struggled to victory over Kazakhstan and now lost to Iceland, a dismal record that will put pressure on Hiddink, who is in his second stint in charge after previously leading the Netherlands to the World Cup semi-finals in 1998.
Van Persie said it was not fair to blame Hiddink.
“Guus is a fantastic coach,” Van Persie said. “We are all working as hard as we can to play well.”
Hiddink brought on a second striker — Klaas Jan Huntelaar — at halftime for Wesley Sneijder, but the Schalke 04 striker, who came off the bench Friday night to score against Kazakhstan, could not make an impact this time.
As the Netherlands pushed forward trying to claw their way back into the match, they gave room to Iceland’s forwards, and Kolbeinn Sigthorsson and Bjarnason both came close to extending the host’s lead after the break.
“Everyone fought for each other,” Sigthorsson said. “It was a team performance.”
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