Danny Blind holds Holland qualification hope

Holland coach Danny Blind is still holding out hope of a place in the Euro 2016 play-offs, despite being on the cusp of elimination.

Blind’s men kept alive their slim hopes of qualifying for next year’s European Championship by beating Kazakhstan 2-1 on Saturday.

Georginio Wijnaldum and Wesley Sneijder scored in either half to ensure the fight for third spot in Group A goes down to the final round of qualifiers on Tuesday night.

Holland, who ave not missed a major tournament since the 2002 World Cup, still face an improbable situation though, as a point for Turkey – who host already qualified Iceland – will be enough for Fatih Terim’s men to claim third place and reach the play-offs.

Blind’s charges host the Czech Republic, who have already reached next year’s finals, and they must win that game and hope for an Iceland win in Konya.

“I’m satisfied with this victory,” said Blind, who earned his first victory after losing his first two matches in charge.

“The most important thing was to win. That was the aim and how it happened didn’t matter.

“We controlled the game for an hour, we had some good moments and some good goals.

“Our defence was well-organised. The only thing we forgot was to score a third goal and decide the match.

“I’m glad we won. Nothing has been decided yet,” added Blind, who last month claimed the thought of quitting “does not go through my head”.