ROTTERDAM, Netherlands (AP) — The Netherlands qualified for next year’s World Cup on its second attempt Tuesday by beating Norway 2-0 in an empty De Kuip stadium.
Turkey qualified for the playoffs by beating Montenegro 2-1 in Podgorica.
Steven Bergwijn finally broke the stalemate in a cagey match in the 84th minute, running onto a pass by Arnaut Danjuma and smashing a powerful shot past Orjan Nyland.
In stoppage time, the Tottenham winger surged forward and laid off a pass for Memphis Depay to seal the victory with a shot from a tight angle.
Norway, needing a win to stand a chance of progressing, showed little initiative throughout the match.
The Dutch were minutes from qualifying on Saturday night, leading Montenegro 2-0 in the last 10 minutes of regulation time before conceding twice to set up Tuesday’s nerve-jangling match.
This time it was the Dutch who scored twice late on, leaving Norway no time to come back.
Dutch coach Louis van Gaal watched the match from a sky box at the stadium after breaking a bone in his hip in a fall on Sunday, passing messages to his assistants Henk Fraser and Danny Blind in the dugout.
Star striker Erling Haaland was also out injured and without him Norway largely lacked attacking impulse and did not manage a single shot in the first half.
The Dutch pushed forward and Depay looked the most likely to break the deadlock before the break but could not find a way past Nyland.
The Netherlands controlled most for the match and Bergwijn’s strike and Depay’s extra time goal were enough to send the three-time World Cup runner-up to Qatar after failing to qualify for the 2018 tournament in Russia.
In Podgorica, Montenegro took the lead in just the fourth minute through Fatos Beciraj.
Kerm Akturkoglu equalized in the 22nd and Orkun Kokcu put Turkey ahead on the hour mark.
Wales secures World Cup playoff seeded spot with draw against Belgium
CARDIFF, Wales (AP) — Wales secured a seeded spot in the World Cup playoffs on Tuesday by holding Belgium to a 1-1 draw after rallying from a goal down in their final qualifier in Group E.
Wales was guaranteed a playoff spot in March before kickoff through its Nations League results and the draw guaranteed that Rob Page’s players will get a home draw in the playoff semifinals in March.
Unbeaten in the group, Belgium secured the top spot and direct qualification last weekend with a 3-1 win over Estonia.
The Czech Republic beat Estonia 2-0 on Tuesday in the group’s other match and finished third, one point behind Wales.
Kieffer Moore scored Wales’ first-half equalizer after Kevin de Bruyne gave Belgium the lead.
The 12-team playoffs will decide who joins the 10 European qualifying group winners at the tournament. The playoff draw will include runners-up in the 10 groups plus two group winners from the UEFA Nations League.
De Bruyne captained a Belgium team deprived of many regular starters featuring just five players from the side that defeated Estonia.
Without the injured Gareth Bale, the hosts got off to a strong start with high pressing. But their early moves left the Belgian defense unimpressed as 21-year-old Arthur Theate _ on his international debut _ and Dedryck Boyata efficiently closed spaces.
Belgium gradually got into the match and took the lead in the 12th minute when De Bruyne slotted home with a low shot past goalkeeper Danny Ward after defenders failed to clear an effort at goal from Axel Witsel.
Technically superior to their rivals, Roberto Martinez’s players controlled the remainder of the first half and threatened with counterattacks as Wales gave away the ball too easily in midfield.
The hosts snatched an equalizer against the run of the play soon after the half hour after Witsel and Theate both failed to clear a cross from Daniel James that dropped to Moore, who concluded the move with a precise shot for his eighth Wales goal.
Thorgan Hazard came close of restoring the Red Devils’ lead in the 41st minute from De Bruyne’s corner kick, but his curled volley from the edge of the era hit the post.
The match was more balanced after the interval as Wales pushed hard toward the end but could not find a cutting edge.
Ukraine beats Bosnia & Herzegovina, into World Cup playoffs
PARIS (AP) — Second-half goals from midfielder Oleksandr Zinchenko and forward Artem Dovbyk gave Ukraine a 2-0 win at Bosnia and Herzegovina on Tuesday and sent it to the World Cup playoffs in second place behind runway group winner France.
Ukraine finished on 12 points in Group D, six points behind Les Bleus and one ahead of Finland. Ukraine seeks a first World Cup participation since reaching the quarterfinals in 2006 and a shot at some redemption after losing a narrow playoff to France for 2014.
Finland lost 2-0 on Tuesday at home to 2018 champion France, which clinched the top spot after routing Kazakhstan 8-0 Saturday.
Les Bleus labored in the first half in chilly Helsinki but the attack heated up when Real Madrid star Karim Benzema came on. He scored after combining with Kylian Mbappe, who added a brilliant second goal to continue his prolific form.
Already qualified for Qatar, the French started slowly at Olympic Stadium. Finland’s all-time leading scorer Teemu Pukki had one shot comfortably saved by goalkeeper Hugo Lloris in the 30th and blazed over another effort as he sought his 34th international goal.
A gritty half was summed up when France right back Leo Dubois pulled up with a right hamstring injury and was replaced by Benjamin Pavard.
In a bid to pry open Finland’s tightly knit team, France coach Didier Deschamps brought on Benzema for the ineffective Moussa Diaby and he went close in the 57th.
Benzema’s swift movement and technical ability was too good as he swapped passes with Mbappe _ who had netted four against the Kazakhs _ to score with a slightly deflected shot in the 66th.
It was Benzema’s 36th in 94 matches for Les Bleus and ninth in 13 games since being recalled by Deschamps for this summer’s European Championship.
His partnership with Mbappe just keeps improving.
“Given the team we have (the World Cup) is in a corner of our minds,” Benzema said. “We have our objectives and they include winning the World Cup.”
Mbappe scored superbly in the 76th.
Turning a defender on the halfway line, he sprinted down the left and curled the ball in brilliantly from just inside the penalty area into the bottom right corner for his 24th international goal.
The 10 group runners-up will be joined in the playoffs by two teams which won a Nations League group last year. Runners-up with the six best records will play at home first in the semifinals.
FIFA will make the playoffs draw on Nov. 26 in Zurich.
The three winners of the playoffs finals on March 29 will complete the lineup of 13 European teams present in Qatar.
COMMENTS
When submitting content, please abide by our submission guidelines, and avoid posting profanity, personal attacks or harassment. Should you violate our submissions guidelines, we reserve the right to remove your comments and block your account. Sportsnet reserves the right to close a story’s comment section at any time.