Van Persie: Turkey loss painful

Netherlands striker Robin van Persie said their performance was not reflected fairly in a damaging 3-0 loss to Turkey, a huge dent in their Euro 2016 qualifying hopes.

The heavy defeat in Konya on Sunday marked Danny Blind’s second successive loss since taking charge of the Dutch side in July.

Netherlands sit fourth in Group A, two points adrift of Turkey in the play-off spot – their only potential path to the finals in France with the Czech Republic and Iceland having already earned the guaranteed places.

While Blind was forced to defend his job just two games in – he is yet to see his side score – Van Persie said the performance was not as detrimental as the scoreline suggested.

“Extremely painful,” Van Persie told the KNVB (Dutch FA) website.  “Actually, we played quite well in the first half. 

“We controlled the game, were good on the ball and created several chances. 

“But at the end of the day, it was Turkey who produced the goals which we failed to make.”

With a trip to Kazakhstan and a hosting of the Czech Republic to come, Van Persie said they were not giving up hope of qualifying – the Dutch having reached the finals of the past seven European Championships.

“It’s out of our hands now, but we still have a chance. There are still two qualifiers left to play, and we’ll just have to win them both,” the Fenerbahce forward said.