The Netherlands became the biggest casualty of the 2016 European Championship qualifying cycle on Tuesday, with a 3-2 loss to the Czech Republic confirming the third place finishers at the 2014 World Cup would not qualify for UEFA’s preeminent international competition.
Even if the Dutch had won, their status would have also been confirmed by Turkey’s win over Iceland, a 1-0 victory thanks to a late Selcuk Inan goal that gave the Turks third place in Group A. Thanks to their point total against the top five teams in their group, the largest among third-place finishers, Turkey earned a spot in next summer’s championship. The Dutch, on the other hand, will miss out on their first major competition since failing to qualify for the 2002 World Cup.
The Netherlands, ranked 14th in the world by FIFA, were down 2-0 at halftime but were given reason for hope when Marek Suchy’s dismissal sent the Czech Republic into the dressing rooms down a man. Twenty-one minutes into the second half, however, an own goal from Robin van Persie doomed the Dutch, who saw late goals from Klaas-Jan Huntelaar and van Persie go for naught.
Had Danny Blind’s team come back to win, they would have still been eliminated. The Netherlands needed a victory in Amsterdam plus an Iceland victory in Konya to have a chance to qualify for next month’s playoffs. Now, instead of fighting for one of the final four spots in France 2016, the Netherlands are left with a fourth place finish in Group A, not enough to book them a place at Euro 2016.
Final Euro 2016 group stage qualifying results
Group A
- Qualified: Czech Republic (22 points), Iceland (20), Turkey (18)
- Eliminated: Netherlands (13), Kazakhstan (5), Latvia (5)
* – Turkey automatically qualifies as the team with the best record against the top five teams in their group.
Week’s results:
- (10/10) Iceland 2, Lativa 2
- (10/10) Kazkakhstan 1, Netherlands 2
- (10/10) Czech Republic 0, Turkey 2
- (10/13) Latvia 0, Kazakhstan 1
- (10/13) Netherlands 2, Czech Republic 3
- (10/13) Turkey 1, Iceland 0
Group B
- Qualified: Belgium (23), Wales (21)
- Playoff: Bosnia and Herzegovina (17)
- Eliminated: Israel (13), Cyprus (12), Andorra (0)
Week’s results:
- (10/10) Andorra 1, Belgium 4
- (10/10) Bosnia and Herzegovina 2, Wales 0
- (10/10) Isreal 1, Cyprus 2
- (10/13) Belgium 3, Israel 1
- (10/13) Cyprus 2, Bosnia and Herzegovina 3
- (10/13) Wales 2, Andorra 0
Group C
- Qualified: Spain (27), Slovakia (22)
- Playoff: Ukraine (19)
- Eliminated: Belarus (11), Luxembourg (4), Macedonia (4)
Week’s results:
- (10/9) Macedonia 0, Ukraine 2
- (10/9) Slovakia 0, Belarus 1
- (10/9) Spain 4, Luzembourg 0
- (10/12) Belarus 0, Macedonia 0
- (10/12) Luzembourg 2, Slovakia 4
- (10/12) Ukraine 0, Spain 1
Group D
- Qualified: Germany (22), Poland (21)
- Playoff: Republic of Ireland (18)
- Eliminated: Scotland (15), Georgia (9), Gibraltar (0)
Week’s results:
- (10/8) Georgia 4, Gibraltar 0
- (10/8) Republic of Ireland 1, Germany 0
- (10/8) Scotland 2, Poland 2
- (10/11) Germany 2, Georgia 1
- (10/11) Gibraltar 0, Scotland 6
- (10/11) Poland 2, Republic of Ireland 1
Group E
- Qualified: England (30), Switzerland (21)
- Playoff: Slovenia (16)
- Eliminated: Estonia (10), Lithuania (10), San Marino (1)
Week’s results:
- (10/9) England 2, Estonia 0
- (10/9) Slovenia 1, Lithuania 1
- (10/9) Switzerland 7., San Marino 0
- (10/12) Estonia 0, Switzerland 1
- (10/12) Lithuania 0, England 3
- (10/12) San Marino 0, Slovenia 2
Group F
- Qualified: Northern Ireland (21), Romania (20)
- Playoff: Hungary (16)
- Eliminated: Finland (12), Faroe Islands (6), Greece (6)
Week’s results
- (10/8) Hungary 2, Faroe Islands 1
- (10/8) Northern Ireland 3, Greece 1
- (10/8) Romania 1, Finland 1
- (10/11) Faroe Islands 0, Romania 3
- (10/11) Finland 1, Northern Ireland 1
- (10/11) Greece 4, Hungary 3
Group G
- Qualified: Austria (28), Russia (20)
- Playoff: Sweden (18)
- Eliminated: Montenegro (11), Liechtenstein (5), Moldova (0)
Week’s results
- (10/9) Liechtenstein 0, Sweden 2
- (10/9) Moldova 1, Russia 2
- (10/9) Montenegro 2, Austria 3
- (10/12) Austria 3, Lichtenstein 0
- (10/12) Russia 2, Montenegro 0
- (10/12) Sweden 2, Moldova 0
Group H
- Qualified: Italy (24), Croatia (20)
- Playoff: Norway (19)
- Eliminated: Bulgaria (11), Azerbaijan (6), Malta (2)
Week’s results:
- (10/10) Azerbaijan 1, Italy 3
- (10/10) Norway 2, Malta 0
- (10/10) Croatia 3, Bulgaria 0
- (10/13) Bulgaria 2, Azerbaijan 0
- (10/13) Italy 2, Norway 1
- (10.13) Malta 0, Croatia 1
Group I
- Qualified: Portugal (21), Albania (14)
- Playoff: Denmark (12)
- Eliminated: Serbia (4), Armenia (2)
Week’s results:
- (10/8) Albania 0, Serbia 2
- (10/8) Portugal 1, Denmark 0
- (10/11) Armenia 0, Albania 3
- (10/11) Serbia 1, Portugal 2
Automatically qualified: France (host nation)
The draw for next month’s playoffs among third-place finishers will take place on Oct. 18 in Nyon, Switzerland. Four seeded teams, expected to be Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ukraine, Sweden and Denmark, will be matched up against one of the non-seeded teams, projected to be Hungary, the Republic of Ireland, Slovenia and Norway.
Seeds are based on the team’s ranking in the UEFA national team coefficient at the end of group stage qualifying.
