Apples and Oranjes: Conte’s success, Hiddink’s struggle continue

Italy make it three wins out of three, Holland lose second in three

THE HAGUE: The Netherlands, who finished third at the 2014 World Cup in July, continue to struggle in the Euro 2016 qualifiers as the pressure on coach Guus Hiddink increases after two defeats in their opening three matches.

The 67-year-old — who led the Dutch to the 1998 World Cup semi-finals in his first stint as coach — will be hoping for a turnaround from his men after they suffered a shock 2-0 reverse in Iceland on Monday.

The critics are no longer beating about the bush. "It's finished for Hiddink, it's time to leave the position to a younger coach," said Ajax coach Frank de Boer, who played under Hiddink in his first stint as Holland coach.

Hiddink’s only victory so far was a come-from-behind 3-1 victory over 127^th- ranked Kazakhstan but his players have thrown their support behind him. "Forget about the World Cup and stop talking about the 5-3-2, the problem is not tactics," said Arjen Robben. "The problem is our mentality and people must stop believing we are good, because in reality we are not good."

Conte continues winning start

Southampton striker Graziano Pelle scored a first-half winner on his debut as Italy hung on for a 1-0 victory away to 10-man Malta to extend coach Antonio Conte’s perfect run.

Pelle's performances in the English Premier League this season caught Conte’s eye, who lined up the big striker alongside Ciro Immobile, and the Southampton man was a constant threat in the Maltese box throughout the match.

The target-man saw a first-half header smash against the crossbar from one of several inviting crosses by Fiorentina midfielder Manuel Pasquale. A Pasquale corner eventually led to the breakthrough as Pelle was in the right place at the right time to poke home after it fell kindly to him in the box from Leonardo Bonucci's header.

However, Pelle refused to get carried away by his debut goal. “I'm happy I scored and we got the three points but we have to do better," he told Sky Sport Italia.

Conte, too, wants more from his side in their next game against unbeaten Croatia. "The big game against Croatia will tell us just how good we are after these first two months," said Conte.

 

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