Penalties possible after Netherlands win

The Netherlands cruised to victory against UEFA European Under-17 Championship Elite round Group 3 hosts Luxembourg but their hopes of reaching a third straight final tournament could rely on a penalty shoot-out.

Tie
Having beaten Azerbaijan 1-0 on Thursday, despite ending with nine men, the Netherlands had a more comfortable win today. It drew them exactly equal with Croatia at the head of the group and if their match is level after 80 minutes on Tuesday, a place in Germany in May will be decided on spot-kicks.

Goals
As in their 2-0 loss to Croatia on Matchday 1, Luxembourg proved a stubborn outfit but Luc Castaignos made the breakthrough after 35 minutes. Shabir Isoufi and Castaignos increased the lead in the second half before a crucial fourth arrived in the last minute from Rangelo Janga, though his fellow substitute Ricardo Kip then had a good chance to establish an outright group lead saved. "It is a pity it was not a goal," said Netherlands coach Albert Stuivenberg. "Now we are level with Croatia and could go to penalties. An extra goal would have meant we only needed a draw for qualification."