Bell’s fighting Irish hold mighty Dutch in World Cup qualifier

They may have survived some scares in Nijmegen last night but Ireland remain well in the mix to challenge for World Cup qualification after preventing the Netherlands from extending their winning run to 12 matches.

Although the European champions were far superior in terms of possession and chances, Colin Bell’s side withstood the pressure to stay unbeaten after three games of their tilt at reaching the 2019 showpiece France. They are joint-top with the Dutch at the summit of Group Three.

“I cannot praise the players enough. They put their bodies on the line for every second of the game and got an incredible result,” said Bell.