Robben tells Dutch team to be believers
AMSTERDAM: Netherlands captain Arjen Robben has called on his team mates not to underestimate their ability and believe in their potential to upset France today in order to get their World Cup hopes back on track.
The Dutch sit third in the Group A standings, three points adrift of joint leaders France and Sweden and a second loss of the qualifying campaign to France could effectively end their hopes of a place at next year’s finals in Russia.
“Of course, France have, in terms of quality, a really good team, but I don’t want to talk about them. I think we must not think that we are not as good, we must be convinced of our own qualities and believe that we can beat them,” Robben told reporters on Tuesday.
“I’m always very positive. We can well say that it will be difficult because France have a better team, but if you think like that, then you might as well stay at home,” he added.
“We must go to Paris with conviction. It is a bit like the situation at the World Cup in 2014. If you believe in something and have the requisite ambition, you can go far.”
The unrated Dutch finished third in the last World Cup in Brazil after initially being heavily criticised for changing their tactical approach.
But they missed out on qualifying for the 2016 European Championship and have struggled in the 2018 World Cup qualifiers.
Defeat in Sofia by Bulgaria in March cost Danny Blind his job as coach with Dick Advocaat returning in his place.
“I want to see conviction, not angst,” Robben said.
“And organisationally everything must click. If you don’t have as much individual quality as some of the top footballing countries, then you have to approach games cleverly.”
Sweden, meanwhile, visit Bulgaria knowing that a win for the hosts could throw the group wide open.
In Group B, it has all boiled down to a two-horse race between Switzerland, who have a 100% record, and Portugal, who have won all their games since losing to the Swiss in their opener, and should be settled when they meet again in Lisbon on Oct 10.
In the meantime, both teams are expected to easily win today when Switzerland host Andorra and Portugal entertain the Faroes.
Hungary, however, could throw a spanner in the works by taking a point or three off the Portuguese in Budapest on Sunday.
In Group H, unbeaten Belgium should move close to direct qualification today when they host Gibraltar who have conceded 24 goals on their way to losing all six games.
Belgium coach Roberto Martinez left AS Roma midfielder Radja Nainggolan out of the squad for the game but the player has denied a newspaper report that he has quit international football as a result.
The race for second place appears to be between Greece and Bosnia. Both teams will expect to pick up wins as the Greeks host Estonia and Bosnia visit Cyprus.