Euro 2016: Qualification for Iceland, Netherlands on the Brink

As the final whistle blew in Reykjavik, Iceland achieved the unthinkable. Their 0-0 draw against Kazakhstan ensured that the nation of just 330,000 had qualified for Euro 2016 and were to play football in France next summer. Iceland will now play their first major tournament after narrowly missing out on World Cup qualification, by way of a play-off loss against Croatia.

"I would give the credit to the youth coaches in Iceland. They are probably among the best in the world", says assistant manager  Heimir Hallgrimsson. In the last decade, several full-size indoor pitches as well as artificial pitches have been built, ensuring almost every school has an artificial pitch.

Additionally, hundreds of specialists got UEFA coaching licenses. The revamp has begun to pay dividends. The squad boasts the likes of Swansea attacking midfielder Gylfi Sigurdsson and Cardiff City's Aron Gunnarsson. There is reportedly, great harmony amongst the squad, which has been subjected to just one defeat in the qualifiers, against Czech Republic - by way of an own goal. While they thumped Turkey 3-0 and handed the Dutch their first defeat on home soil in a qualifier since 2000, on the path to topping their group.

If Iceland's preparation and management has been immaculate, that of the Dutch has been shambolic.

Netherlands are on the brink, with their fate now in the hands of Turkey. They can at best finish third but will have to win the remaining two games, while hoping for a Turkish slip-up against Czech Republic or Iceland.

One year truly is a long time in football.

It was during the 2014 World Cup that the Netherlands took the tournament by storm. Having been written-off in the buildup, the Louis van Gaal-led outfit thwarted Spain 5-1 and beat hosts Brazil 3-0, on their way to third place. Van Gaal was lauded for his tactics, having employed an unorthodox 3-5-2, he had overachieved with the squad at his disposal.

The post-van Gaal era has been one of turmoil for the Dutch. Euro 2016 qualification was the first major test for new manager Guus Hiddink. However, a series of abject performances, epitomized by a 2-0 loss to Iceland last October led to his resignation on June 30.

Succeeding him, was his assistant, Danny Blind.

The appointment was expected to bring about change in both tactics and fortune. However, after two losses, Blind already has a series of questions to answer like why Robin van Persie was not used with just one goal needed to square the game against Iceland, besides explaining  Klaas Jan-Huntelaar's bizarre absence in the game against Turkey.

As the Netherlands stare down the barrel, it won't be the first time a top team has missed out on qualification of a major tournament, in recent years. Mladen Petric broke English hearts, when he scored the winner at Wembley,  as Croatia qualified for Euro 2008 at the expense of England. The Dutch, themselves failed to qualify for the 2002 World Cup, after losing to Ireland in a decisive qualification match. That result meant the likes of Ruud van Nistelrooy, Clarence Seedorf and Marc Overmars were denied a chance to play on the biggest of all stages.

Whether a similar fate awaits Van Persie and co will be known next month. To ensure any hope, however, the Netherlands management must stop the double-Dutch.