WORLD CUP
Holland ‘need a miracle’ to make 2018 World Cup finals
Amsterdam — Unless the Netherlands can beat Sweden by a seven-goal margin on Tuesday, the inventors of the beautiful game will be absent from the 2018 World Cup finals. Having missed the cut for Euro 2016, the Netherlands sit third in Group A and can make the play-offs only with a high-scoring win over second-placed Sweden after a poor start to their campaign. However, coach Dick Advocaat, who took over from Danny Blind four games ago, is in no mood to concede defeat. "Seven-nil is possible," he claimed. "Sweden have just beaten Luxembourg 8-0 so why can’t we do the same to them?" Veteran Bayern Munich winger Arjen Robben takes a more realistic line. "Mathematically it’s still possible of course, but we need a miracle." That miracle will have to be achieved without fading 33-year-old Wesley Sneijder, who has been a cornerstone of much of their past success but whose current form is deemed not good enough by Advocaat. Robben, Sneijder and Robin Van Persie led the way for the Netherla...
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