14/10/2025

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Easy for Oranje Dutch cruise to victory over Finland, edge closer to WC qualification

Spalletti impressed by turnaround under Gattuso

FORMER Italy coach Luciano Spalletti has credited his successor Gennaro Gattuso with turning around their World Cup qualifying campaign after the Azzurri notched their third straight win under the former AC Milan midfielder. Spalletti was sacked in June following a heavy defeat by Norway in qualifying, with former Milan and Napoli manager Gattuso then leading the Italians to two wins over Estonia and a victory against Israel. “I trust Gattuso. I’m sure that, as he’s already shown, he’ll find the right solutions to keep this journey going and achieve what he wants, what he dreams of,” Spalletti told reporters yesterday. “He’s also adjusted a few things tactically in these last matches, because having the forwards closer together has given solutions, especially in games where we faced difficulties – like against Israel – in terms of their playing style. “They did well, finding more direct plays that allowed us to win.” Italy, who are looking to return to football’s showpiece tournament for the first time since 2014, are second in Group I with 12 points from five matches. They face third-placed Israel in Udine tomorrow (2.45am Malaysian time) with a win cementing second spot and a place in the playoffs at the very least. Norway have a six-point lead at the top of the group but have played a game more than Italy. – Reuters

M EMPHIS DEPAY extended his Netherlands scoring record as they cruised to an easy 4-0 win over Finland in their World Cup qualifier on Sunday to move a step closer to booking a berth at next year’s finals. The victory kept them comfortably in the lead in Group G with 16 points from six games, six more than Poland, who play later on Sunday at Lithuania. Donyell Malen got the scoring going at the Johan Cruyff Arena with an eighth-minute strike, followed by a header from Virgil van Dijk nine minutes later. Depay tucked away a 38th-minute penalty to take his tally of goals for the Dutch to 54, having gone past Robin van Persie’s previous record of 50 last month, before Cody Gakpo made it 4-0 six minutes from fulltime. The Dutch can secure qualification with an away win in Poland in their next fixture on Nov 14. After being criticised for their performance in Malta on Thursday, where they won 4-0 but failed to impress, the Dutch were swiftly out of the blocks yesterday and Malen’s quick-footed one-two with Depay saw him strike home superbly inside the opening 10 minutes. Depay was also the provider for Van Dijk’s

“In the first half, you could see that if we got out of position too much, we were less dangerous. Justin (Kluivert) went all the way to the wing a few times, and Ryan (Gravenberch) initially moved from the six man position all the way to rightback. You shouldn’t do that. “It’s all about always pushing. If you look at Spain, they’re working themselves to the limit to apply pressure. “We’d like to have a moment where we’re just walking. We can still improve in that area.” Depay, in particular, impressed as he scored his 54th goal for the Netherlands, extending his record at the top of the goalscoring charts, with this one coming from 12 yards, as well as setting up two. He only had one shot but created three chances (only Gakpo created more – four), and his two assists saw him reach another milestone. He has now set up 35 goals for his nation, more than any other player. “I’ll probably get a message from him,” Depay said of Wesley Sneijder, whose record he broke on Sunday. “You hardly see a player like him anymore. He was just as good with his left foot as he was with his right.” – Reuters/Agencies

goal with a freekick to the back post where the captain stooped ahead of the Finnish defence to claim his 11th international goal. Van Dijk had this week celebrated 10 years in the Dutch team. Jurrien Timber hit the crossbar shortly before a shot from Justin Kluivert struck the hand of Finland’s Miro Tenho, with Depay tucking away the subsequent spot kick. The 31-year-old has scored in six of his last seven international outings. The Dutch lost some of their aggression following changes in the second half, but they were never under threat and put a cherry on top of their performance when Gakpo fired home a shot from the edge of the penalty area in the 84th minute. “It was a good game from start to end with good goals. We were good on the ball and in the end dominant,” Van Dijk told NOS television. Head coach Ronald Koeman was thrilled with his team’s attitude but urged his players to keep improving their work rate ahead of the World Cup. “From the very first moment, we did everything we could to win the match and score as many goals as possible. It was a shame that the fourth came a bit late,” Koeman said.

Denmark stay top with win over Greece

Denmark’s Rasmus Hojlund (right) scores his team’s opening goal against Greece yesterday. – AFPPIC

Joachim Andersen (below, left) celebrates scoring his team’s second goal. – AFPPIC

DENMARK beat Greece 3-1 at home yesterday to keep their unbeaten World Cup qualification campaign on track and end the visitors’ hopes of reaching next year’s tournament, with the battle for Group C supremacy set to go down to the wire. With two matches still to play, Denmark top the standings with 10 points, ahead of Scotland on goal differ ence. The two sides meet in their final fix ture next month with the group win ners earning automatic qualification for the tournament finals and the runners up going into the playoffs. Both the Danes and Scotland are guaranteed at least a playoff spot but Greece, who sit third with three points, have no hope of progressing. “Overall, I don’t think we played our best game today,” Denmark midfielder Morten Hjulmand said. “(The win is) the most important thing. It’s the three points. Sometimes you don’t reach the top level. I don’t think we did that today, but we won 3-1 against a strong team.” Greece controlled possession early in the game, but in the 21st minute Rasmus Hojlund capitalised on a glaring

mistake by Greek midfielder Christos Zafeiris, who tried to pass back to his goalkeeper but left the ball short, allowing the Napoli striker to score with a tap-in. Joachim Andersen dou bled their lead, heading in a Mikkel Damsgaard corner in the 40th minute, and one minute later, another defen sive error by Greece let Damsgaard finish into an empty net with a first-time strike. Denmark took their foot off the gas after the break and Greece pulled one back in the 63rd minute as Christos Tzolis fired a powerful shot over goal keeper Kasper Schmeichel on a counter-attack, the first goal Denmark had conceded in their qualifying campaign. Despite coming close to a sec ond, the Greeks were unable to break down the hosts’

defence, with Schmeichel making a brilliant save to deny substitute Giannis Konstantelias before Andersen cleared Pavlidis’ effort off the line. – Reuters

Nagelsmann backs Wirtz to ‘create lovely moments’ at Liverpool

GERMANY coach Julian Nagelsmann yesterday backed under-fire Liverpool midfielder Florian Wirtz to shine in the Premier League. Speaking in Belfast ahead of Germany’s 2026 World Cup qualifier against Northern Ireland overnight, Nagelsmann said Wirtz’s teething problems were “normal”. “I have no concerns. He’ll adapt very quickly and score goals for Liverpool,” the 38-year-old added. “He’ll create a lot of lovely moments at Anfield.” Wirtz has no goals and no assists in nine Premier League and Champions League matches since joining Liverpool from Bayer Leverkusen in the summer for a fee of £100

“I don’t have to worry about Florian (Wirtz) because his quality is so outstanding. Of course, everything is fine, and everyone knows that. The discussion is certainly being blown out of proportion. “Liverpool have just lost three games in a row – it’s unusual for something like that to happen after such a long time. But it’s also normal in life. That’s why these things are discussed. “I’ve been in the middle of such discussions long enough now, and I can tell you: nothing could interest people less than the public discussions that are taking place there. So it doesn’t matter, and everything will be fine.” – AFP/Express Newspapers

Liverpool’s record signing Alexander Isak has appeared off the pace after a curtailed pre season, while Mohamed Salah has been unable to replicate his record-breaking form, managing five goals in his last 21 appearances for the Reds. “Wirtz needs to get used to the league. I saw him playing with total freedom. He knows what he’s capable of and how things work,” Nagelsmann said. “He hasn’t always had it easy – he’ll have to work hard now too.” Former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp leapt to the defence of the under-fire Liverpool signing, hailing him as a “once in a century talent”.

million (RM580m). “Even though he hasn’t scored any goals, he is still the player who creates the most chances in the Premier League,” Nagelsmann told Sport 1 . “It’s not his fault if his teammates don’t convert them, and the statistics don’t even tell the whole story.” Wirtz joined Leverkusen from Cologne in 2020 and quickly established himself as one of Bundesliga’s brightest talents, bagging 57 goals and registering 65 assists in 197 appearances for Leverkusen. But his arrival at Anfield has coincided with Liverpool’s struggles this term, with the club suffering three losses in a row.