Van Persie helps Netherlands win first match, Belgium destroys Andorra

After a 1-2 defeat to the Czech Republic, Guus Hiddink's Netherlands also had their first victory in the EURO 2016 qualifiers when they defeated the "underdog" Kazakhstan 3-1 in the match that took place early this morning, October 11.

Robin van Persie sealed the victory from the penalty spot. (Source: PA)

Renat Abdulin surprised Kazakhstan with a goal to open the scoring in the 17th minute. However, the Netherlands had an explosive second half and had three consecutive goals from Klaas Jan Huntelaar, Ibrahim Afellay and Robin van Persie to win the match.

With this victory, the Netherlands is temporarily ranked third in Group A with 3 points, one win behind the two teams above, Iceland and the Czech Republic.

Meanwhile, in Group B, Belgium began their quest for a ticket to France in the summer of 2016 with a crushing 6-0 win over Andorra, while Israel also got their first three points after defeating Cyprus 2-1.

In Group H, Italy easily beat Azerbaijan 2-1, while Croatia also got three more points after a 1-0 win over Bulgaria. Italy and Croatia are currently sharing the top spot with 6 points and a goal difference of +3.

In Italy's victory, all 3 goals were scored by home team center-back Chiellini, including 1 own goal.

Table A
Latvia - Iceland 0-3
Netherlands - Kazakhstan 3-1
Türkiye - Czech Republic 1-2

Table B
Belgium - Andorra 6-0
Cyprus - Israel 1-2
Wales - Bosnia-Herzegovina 0-0

Group H
Bulgaria - Croatia 0-1
Italy - Azerbaijan 2-1
Malta - Norway 0-3./.

According to Bongdaplus