EURO 2012 QUALIFYING:DIRK KUYT'S late double spared Netherlands' blushes last night as they escaped from a night of defensive havoc with a 5-3 victory over Hungary to stay on course for next year's European Championship finals.
The Liverpool striker struck after 78 and 81 minutes to give the Dutch a 14th consecutive victory in qualifying matches after Hungary had hit back from an early setback to threaten an upset in a thrilling encounter.
They lead the group with a maximum 18 points, although the sight of Robin van Persie going off with a knee injury was a worry for the Dutch and his club Arsenal.
Meanwhile, Australia stunned Germany with two goals in three minutes to snatch a 2-1 away win in their friendly game in Moenchengladbach last night and exact revenge for their World Cup group stage defeat last year.
France missed out on a seventh consecutive win when they were held to a 0-0 draw by Croatia in a friendly and Franck Ribery experienced a mixed reception in his first home game since the World Cup fiasco.
Huge boos came from the Paris stands when the influential midfielder replaced Florent Malouda but other parts of the stadium began to chant his name after he picked up the ball.
A first-half goal by Giuseppe Rossi helped 10-man Italy to a 2-0 victory over Ukraine in a friendly, undermining home coach Yuri Kalitvintsev’s hopes of keeping the job long-term.
