Bulgaria shocked one of the most iconic football playing nations in the world, Netherlands, 2-0 in a 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifying game. This result dealt a severe blow to Netherland’s chances of qualifying for the 2018 World Cup to be held in Russia.
No one expected Bulgaria to win the match when the ball was first kicked in their home ground in Sofia, but a nightmare performance from 17-year old Ajax defender Matthijs de Ligt, the youngest player on the pitch for Netherlands ensured that Bulgaria walked away with a 2-0 victory. Netherlands coach Danny Blind later admitted that de Ligt was only picked due to injury to regular choice centre-backs Stefan de Vrij, Jeffrey Bruma and Virgil van Dijk.
It was de Ligt’s mistake which allowed Bulgaria’s Spas Delev to score the opening goal of the match after only 5 minutes on the clock. Delev also scored Bulgaria’s second goal midway through the first half, sending the home fans into delirium.
Netherlands improved their performance a lot in the second half and had much better combination play, but could not find the back of the net which would them back into the contest.
Netherlands who failed to qualify for the 2016 Euros, are now in serious danger of missing out on the 2018 World Cup as well with them sitting at fourth place in their group, three points behind second-placed Sweden and a massive six points behind group leaders France.
