A 90th minute equaliser denied the Netherlands a victory in their opening U21 European Championship qualifying tie. The clash with Israel finished 2-2 in Venlo.
Michael Reiziger led the last group of Netherlands U21 internationals to a perfect qualifying series and they won all their games. This time with a new group he handed debuts to talents such as AZ Alkmaar’s Kees Smit and Ro-Zangelo Daal.
In the first half, the Netherlands dominated possession but they failed to create chances to hurt the visitors. Just after an hour, an error from goalkeeper Rome-Jayden Owusu-Oduro gifted Ran Binyamin the opening goal.
Ernest Poku quickly equalised with a fine team goal before the AZ winger made it 2-1 and it seemed the Netherlands were heading for victory. However, in the 91st minute, a free kick deflected off Poku and ended in the net.
A disappointing draw to begin the campaign and tougher fixtures lie ahead against Norway, Bosnia & Herzegovina and Slovenia.
Related