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UEFA Nations League: Netherlands target seeding for Euro 2020 qualifiers
Netherlands battled to a 1-1 draw with FIFA world number one Belgium in a friendly international in Brussels on Tuesday.
Netherlands’ Depay Memphis, background, kicks the ball as Belgium’s Dedryck Boyata defends during an international soccer friendly match between Belgium and The Netherlands at the King Baudouin stadium in Brussels, Tuesday, Oct. 16, 2018. (AP Photo/Olivier Matthys)
The Netherlands will aim to pick up more points from Nations League matches against France and Germany next month to secure one of the 10 seeds for the European Championship qualifying draw in December, coach Ronald Koeman has said. “The most important thing is to get a seeding for the draw and that is possible if we get a few more points,” Koeman said after his side battled to a 1-1 draw with FIFA world number one Belgium in a friendly international in Brussels on Tuesday.
It was another positive result for the Dutch, who beat Germany 3-0 in the Nations League in Amsterdam on Saturday after opening their campaign in that tournament with a 2-1 loss to France.
The Netherlands will next host world champions France in Rotterdam on Nov. 16 and complete Nations League A Group 1 play against the Germans in Gelsenkirchen three days later.
“I think we have laid a foundation,” said Koeman, who took over as national team coach in February. “A lot of people before we started the Nations League didn’t give us much chance of getting any points off these two teams. But now we have three already and we want to get some more.”
The leading 10 of 12 countries competing in the top tier of the Nations League will be seeded for the Euro 2020 qualifying draw in Dublin on Dec. 2. There will be 10 groups of either five or six teams with the top two qualifying for the finals, which are being played across 12 countries. Qualifying starts in March.
First uploaded on: 17-10-2018 at 20:31 IST
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