Sofia: Netherlands skipper Arjen Robben described his team’s shock 2-0 World Cup qualifying defeat to Bulgaria as “a nightmare” as the three-time runners-up were left in danger of missing the 2018 finals.
The loss left the Dutch six points behind Group A leaders France, who beat Luxembourg 3-1, and down in fourth spot.
They are also three back from Sweden, who defeated Belarus 4-0, and two behind Bulgaria with just the group winners guaranteed a place in the finals in Russia.
“What can I tell you? We came here with good intentions, but it has become a nightmare,” 33-year-old Bayern Munich winger Robben said.
“We win together and we lose together. Now we’ll get s**t all over us. It’s sad. I’m speechless. The first half was shocking.”
Bulgaria stunned the Dutch with two goals in the first 20 minutes, both coming from Spas Delev who opened his international account.
Delev pounced on a mistake by 17-year-old Matthijs De Ligt, Holland’s youngest debutant since 1931, who misjudged a pass and allowed the striker to slot the ball past Jeroen Zoet.
Delev then made it 2-0 when he unleashed a stinging right-foot drive past Zoet.
Danny Blind’s Dutch dominated large parts of the rest of the game but were thwarted by a solid Bulgarian defence while goalkeeper Nikolay Mihaylov pulled off a super save in the second period to deny Davy Klaassen.
Bas Dost had a weak header saved by Mihaylov as the Netherlands were left contemplating missing a second successive major tournament having also failed to qualify for Euro 2016.
“The blame is on me. It falls firmly on my roof. I must now think about it and my employer will be doing the same,” Blind told reporters.
“I’ve worked long enough in football to understand how it works. I must now look at myself in the mirror. It can’t carry on like this.” Blind took over as coach from Guus Hiddink in a bid to resuscitate the Dutch qualifying campaign for the 2016 European Championships in France but a shock home defeat to Iceland in his first match in charge quickly ended any possibility of a revival.
Blind has won seven and lost seven of his 17 games in charge since taking over in 2015.
“I must be truthful to myself and to the KNVB (the Dutch football association),” the manager said.
“I must be convinced that I can get things right but we must also be honest and say that getting to Russia is now going to be a lot more difficult.
“I must think now whether I’m still capable of doing the job.” Blind was heavily criticised for handing 17-year-old defender Matthijs de Ligt a starting berth after just a few matches at club level for Ajax Amsterdam.
It was the teenager’s mistake which led to a fifth minute goal for Spas Delev, who scored a second 15 minutes later.
“If I have to now judge it, it was too early to put him in the team,” Blind added.
“It did not work out with Matthijs as we hoped it would and that’s my responsibility. But he will become a great defender.
“But the big players also did not bring to the game what we expected from them.” Failure to qualify for the Euro 2016 finals was a major blow just two years after the Netherlands finished third at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
