The Republic of Ireland will attempt to launch a strong finish to a disappointing Euro 2024 qualifying campaign when they welcome Greece to the Aviva Stadium on Friday evening.

Stephen Kenny’s men saw hopes of automatic qualification effectively go up in smoke last month when they were beaten by Group B rivals France in Paris and the Netherlands in Dublin, leaving them with just three points from their five games to date.

Here, the PA news agency takes a look at some of the talking points surrounding a game in which there is little more than pride at stake for the hosts.

Curtains for Kenny?

Despite inheriting an Ireland squad which had secured a Euro 2020 play-off place on which they were ultimately unable to cash in, Kenny stated from early in his reign that qualification for Euro 2024 was his target. Barring an unlikely series of results, the Republic will not make it to Germany automatically and even another ticket for the play-offs looks unlikely as a result of their poor Nations League record. A review of the manager’s tenure will take place next month, but even some of Kenny’s most staunch supporters are starting to turn.

Greek tragedy

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The Group B draw left both Ireland and Greece, who were already assured of a play-off spot, facing a difficult task to deny France and the Netherlands the top two berths and as such, the games between the two were going to be crucial. Kenny’s men travelled to Athens in June knowing victory would put them in a strong position from which to mount an attack; they left on the wrong end of a 2-1 scoreline and with the alarm bells already ringing after just two games.

Matt finish?

Matt Doherty in particular did not enjoy his trip to the Greek capital. With his side trailing to Anastasios Bakasetas’ and a second from Girogos Masouras after Nathan Collins had levelled, the defender was sent off after a needless clash with Liverpool’s Kostas Tsimikas. He and his team-mates were less than happy with the behaviour of some of the Greece players during the game and there is a hunger for a measure of revenge within the camp.

When Irish eyes are spying

Greece boss Gus Poyet was a satisfied man after the win at the OPAP Arena, claiming afterwards that he had anticipated what Ireland would do and had therefore been able to combat it. Ireland assistant manager Keith Andrews this week suggested the Uruguayan had enlisted the help of Irish contacts to draw up his masterplan. Time will tell if he has been able to do so once again.

Evan help us

Last month’s 2-0 defeat in Paris and the 2-1 reverse at the hands of the Dutch which followed it might have been different had Kenny been able to call upon one of his emerging stars. Eighteen-year-old Brighton striker Evan Ferguson was forced to withdraw from the squad due to a knee injury, robbing Ireland of their most potent weapon. Ferguson is back and primed and Ireland expects.

Republic of Ireland boss Stephen Kenny has told his players they must believe they can still qualify automatically for the Euro 2024 finals until it becomes a mathematical impossibility.

The chances of Ireland making it to next summer’s finals effectively evaporated last month when they were beaten by Group B rivals France and the Netherlands, and even the prospect of a back-door ticket via the play-offs looks unlikely given their Nations League ranking.

However beleaguered boss Kenny, who has come under intense pressure as a result of just a single victory in the opening five qualifiers – and that against minnows Gibraltar – remained defiant as he plotted revenge against Greece, who got the better of his side in Athens in June.

The manager said: “We want to finish the group strongly. We are still in contention for automatic qualification.

“It’s not in our own hands, we are relying on results elsewhere. We have to see if we can take it to the November window and the only way we can do that is by taking six points from this window.

“It may not be enough, but we’d be kicking ourselves if we didn’t do that and results did happen elsewhere.

“We do our side. We win the games we need to win and that starts with Greece on Friday.”

Kenny’s desperation to get the better of Greece has been fuelled in part by a perception that opposite number Gus Poyet went into the reverse fixture armed with detailed knowledge of how to combat Ireland.

Assistant Keith Andrews suggested earlier this week that Poyet, in doing his homework on the Republic, had used his contacts from Ireland to get the low-down on players and tactics.

Kenny, however, played down talk of a spying scandal, insisting the Greeks had had no help from within his camp.

Asked if he had any surprises up his sleeve for Poyet, he said with a smile: “Yes, I had Theo Zagorakis in the hotel in Castleknock earlier. He’s coming down and we’ll see how he is.”

Kenny added: “It’s all quite possible, but listen, I’m not getting hung up on that and certainly we’re just focused on preparing the team for the game on Friday.”

Ireland have been boosted by the return of Brighton striker Evan Ferguson, who missed last month’s fixtures with a knee injury, although Blackburn’s Sammie Szmodics, who wad called up to replace Aaron Connolly following his withdrawal, has left the squad for family reasons.

Just how different the Republic’s situation might have been had blossoming talent Ferguson been available against the French and the Dutch is a moot point, but Kenny is convinced the motivation of his players will be as high as ever despite the seeming futility of their position.

He said: “Firstly, it’s a huge honour just to put on the green shirt and to represent your country, especially in a qualifier.

“The reality is, although it’s an outside chance, mathematically we still have a chance. As long as that is the case, we must give everything of ourselves all the time.

“That’s not in question. I think they will be hugely motivated, the players, to try to fulfil their potential in this game.”

Millie Bright said it was “mind-blowing” that VAR was not used in England’s 2-1 Nations League defeat against the Netherlands.

Lieke Martens’ opener for the hosts would have been disallowed for offside if VAR had been in operation, as Danielle van de Donk took part in the build-up after returning from an offside position.

But VAR is not mandatory in the Nations League group stages – it is at the discretion of the host nation – and the Lionesses also had two goals struck off for offside, neither of which could be confirmed by VAR.

Speaking after the defeat England captain Bright, 30, was quoted on the BBC website as saying: “This is international football and we do not have VAR in a competitive international game, which is mind-blowing.

“There is no consistency. It is always frustrating (to not have VAR). We push the level of the game to be so high and professional, yet we sometimes have VAR, and sometimes we don’t and sometimes we have goalline technology.

“It is really unfortunate that these are still huge decisions that are incorrect. That’s where we as players have to keep speaking about it, we have to step up, and we have to demand better, and demand more.”

After Alessia Russo’s 64th-minute equaliser, England were then punished after losing possession in the 90th minute as Alex Greenwood gave the ball away and Martens fed substitute Renate Jansen, who rifled past Mary Earps.

England manager Sarina Wiegman also expressed her frustration at Netherlands’ first goal with Danielle van de Donk seemingly in an offside position before assisting Martens.

“When they scored their first goal, we didn’t do well, we didn’t play well, but it’s so obviously offside,” Weigman told ITV, following only the third defeat of her 41-game England tenure.

“That needs to be seen. I think the standards of the game are getting higher and higher, so (having VAR) would absolutely help. It’s just a little bit disappointing.

“(It is) absolutely a tough one to take and a very, very unnecessary one. The first half they were the better team.

“I think second half we totally dominated the game, and of course we scored one goal – but before that we got lots of huge opportunities, too. It’s just one moment that we don’t manage the game and in the counter-attack they score for 2-1. That’s very, very disappointing.”

The result leaves both England and Andries Jonker’s Netherlands on three points in Group A1. Belgium, who England face twice in October in their next group games, lead the pool with four points after drawing 1-1 with Scotland, who have one.

Wiegman’s side, 2-1 victors over Scotland in their opener last Friday, are attempting to secure a Paris 2024 Olympics qualification spot via this competition, and need to finish top of their group to have a chance to do so.

England boss Sarina Wiegman has said she is “very worried” about the playing calendar after naming her squad for this month’s Women’s Nations League double-header.

The Lionesses return to action, after their defeat in the World Cup final on August 20, by facing Scotland in Sunderland a week on Friday and the Netherlands in Utrecht four days later to open their campaign in the new competition.

The Arsenal players in her squad – forward Alessia Russo and defender Lotte Wubben-Moy – took part in Champions League qualifying matches last Wednesday and Saturday.

Wiegman, whose players started their pre-World Cup preparation camp on June 19, told a press conference on Wednesday when asked if she was concerned about the calendar and time off: “Yes, I am very worried.

“I was worried before the World Cup, and we knew this was a very short turnaround.

“It’s a bigger thing – we’re all talking about the calendar and we really have to get connected with FIFA, UEFA, the federations, and we have to make that better.

“Of course the game is growing, which is really good. But it has to grow together and players need some rest too.

“Next week they come in and some players only had six days off, which after such a high-level, high-pressure competition is not good for them. And that has been going on for a long time, because we have major tournaments in the summer all the time. So the urgency to solve it and make it better is really, really high.

“The players will come in and we first have to see how they are physically, and we have to get them fresh, and do everything to do that. That’s going to be a challenge.

“Of course you have the team and you want to perform at the highest level, and also you want players to be fresh. For me and my staff it’s balancing (the) two – is this player fit enough, fresh enough, to play the game? That’s balancing, it’s so intense, and players are not robots.”

She added: “I’ve talked to coaches. I think everyone’s aware that we have to speak with each other and we can do a little better, and we all know it’s pretty complex.

“But I think conversations are going on, and we just need to keep doing that and hopefully find better solutions than we had.”

Keira Walsh is missing from England’s first squad since the Women’s World Cup due to injury.

As well as midfielder Walsh, forward Bethany England also drops out, ruled out after undergoing hip surgery last week.

There is no recall at this stage for Beth Mead despite her returning to Arsenal’s matchday squad as an unused substitute in their Champions League qualifying games last week.

And the same applies to Fran Kirby, who has been involved in pre-season with Chelsea – both sat out the World Cup because of injury.

Sarina Wiegman’s 24-player selection sees Maya Le Tissier, Lucy Staniforth and Jess Park brought back into the fold.

Le Tissier and Staniforth were on the standby list ahead of the summer’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, the latter replacing Park, who withdrew because of a shoulder issue.

Wiegman’s World Cup runners-up play Scotland at Sunderland’s Stadium of Light a week on Friday and the Netherlands in Utrecht four days later in the new women’s Nations League.

Wiegman said: “By the time we play our first game, it will be little more than a month since the World Cup final. We have had little time to reflect on all we have achieved so far this year.

“Instead, we will have to make sure the players are fresh enough and ready to perform straight away, if we want to go far in another competition.

“We will play a derby match against Scotland and they have shown good development recently and are getting stronger and stronger, while we know all about the Netherlands of course, and the very talented players they have.

“It is the first time we have had the Nations League in the women’s game, and it will mean even more competitive matches for us to test ourselves.

“While the time to look back on a special period for us will come at the end of the year, it will be good to see the fans again in Sunderland. We have a great connection with the north east and I know they will give us tremendous support again.”

The Republic of Ireland’s hopes of qualifying for Euro 2024 were all but ended by the Netherlands for whom substitute Wout Weghorst’s goal secured a 2-1 win in Dublin.

The hosts, in need of victory to put themselves in contention in Group B, took the lead on four minutes when Adam Idah scored from the penalty spot after Virgil van Dijk had been penalised for handball.

Goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu brought down Denzel Dumfries as the Netherlands won a penalty of their own midway through the first half, with Cody Gakpo levelling from 12 yards.

Weghorst ensured his side moved second with a game in hand behind leaders France when he scored from Dumfries’ cut-back after 56 minutes to leave the Republic requiring a Dutch collapse if they are to progress.

Elsewhere in the group, Greece beat Gibraltar 5-0 in Athens to remain in the race for the second qualifying spot.

Dimitrios Pelkas opened the scoring after nine minutes before Konstantinos Mavropanos followed up midway through the half with the first of two goals.

Giorgos Masouras netted after the break, before both he and Mavropanos each grabbed another to seal the victory and put the hosts level with the Dutch on nine points, albeit having played a game more.

Northern Ireland fell to a 1-0 defeat in Kazakhstan, their fourth by the same scoreline in a run of five straight losses, to leave their hopes of qualification virtually extinguished.

Striker Maksim Samorodov drilled into the bottom corner from outside the box and beyond Bailey Peacock-Farrell after 32 minutes to keep the home side in with a realistic chance of reaching their first major tournament.

They are one of four teams separated by a point at the top of Group H, with Denmark leading the way thanks to Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg’s 86th-minute strike to seal a 1-0 win away in Finland.

It meant the Danes briefly replaced their hosts at the top of the group, before being knocked back into second on goal difference after Slovenia romped to a 4-0 win in San Marino.

Zan Vipotnik, Jan Mlakar, Sandi Lovric and Zan Karnicnik scored the goals against the section’s bottom side, who remain without a point.

Poland’s hopes of reaching the finals received a serious knock as they lost for the third time in five games in Group E, this time going down to a 2-0 defeat in Albania.

Jasir Asani and Mirlind Daku scored either side of half-time in Tirana to send Albania two points clear of the Czech Republic at the top of the group.

Moldova are behind the Czechs on goal difference after they kept up their surprise bid to reach the finals with a 1-0 win in the Faroe Islands.

Vadim Rata netted early in the second half in Torshavn to move his side onto eight points and leave the Faroes adrift at the bottom with a single point on the board.

In Group G, Montenegro and Serbia kept up the pressure on leaders Hungary in a three-way fight to qualify.

Montenegro needed a goal six minutes into added time from Stevan Jovetic to snatch a 2-1 win against Bulgaria in Podgorica despite having played more than 30 minutes with 10 players.

Igor Vujacic was sent off just before the hour mark after Stefan Savic had given the hosts the lead on the stroke of half-time, but Preslav Borukov levelled in the 79th minute before Jovetic’s dramatic late intervention.

Aleksandar Mitrovic score a first-half hat-trick as Serbia coasted to a 3-1 win in Lithuania, with Gytis Paulauskas’s goal not enough to rescue the home side’s faint hopes of qualification.

Cody Gakpo and Wout Weghorst effectively ended the Republic of Ireland’s Euro 2024 qualification hopes as the Netherlands came from behind to win in Dublin.

On a night when Ireland simply had to win, they flew at the Dutch and took an early lead when Adam Idah nervelessly converted a fourth-minute penalty awarded for handball against Virgil van Dijk.

However, Gakpo levelled from the spot after 19 minutes and after an unhappy Ronald Koeman had made a double half-time change, substitute Weghorst fired the visitors to a 2-1 victory as they recovered from a less than impressive opening 45 minutes to hold sway.

For Republic manager Stephen Kenny, a fourth defeat in five Group B games and just a single win means a trip to Germany next summer is only a mathematical possibility, with France having collected a maximum 15 points and the Dutch and Greece both sitting on nine.

Appointed in April 2020, Kenny, who received a mixed response from a crowd of 49,807 when his named was announced ahead of kick-off at the Aviva Stadium, set his sights on building a new-look side for this campaign but to be so far off the pace with three games left to play represents failure in that mission and his future looks bleak.

His team played with real endeavour, Idah giving Van Dijk a torrid examination in perhaps his best senior international display, but they were painfully exposed defensively by genuine quality for both goals and ultimately could not find the cutting edge to repeat their famous victory over the Dutch in 2001.

The Netherlands were fortunate to escape a second-minute mix-up at the back when Alan Browne forced an error and Idah, who had only the keeper to beat had he turned swiftly, instead fed Chiedozie Ogbene whose shot was blocked.

However, from the resulting corner, Van Dijk mistimed his jump and saw James McClean’s cross hit his arm, prompting referee Irfan Peljto to point to the spot, and Idah duly obliged by confidently sending keeper Mark Flekken the wrong way to get Ireland off to a dream start.

The home side maintained their high-octane start and Browne saw a 13th-minute header from Ogbene’s inviting cross blocked at source, but the visitors forced their way back into the game with their first move of any real quality.

Gakpo’s expertly-threaded pass split the Irish defence and allowed Denzel Dumfries to round exposed keeper Gavin Bazunu, who brought him down in his efforts to rescue the situation.

Peljto once again had little option to award a penalty and Bazunu was unable keep out Gakpo’s skidding attempt despite correctly diving to his left.

Van Dijk was fortunate to be awarded a free-kick after being dispossessed by Idah on the edge of his own penalty area, but Nathan Ake was penalised for hauling down the Norwich striker to allow Browne, who along with Jason Knight was making a real impact, to whip a 33rd-minute free-kick just wide.

Ake redeemed himself within seconds by throwing his body into the path of another Ogbene strike after Josh Cullen had mugged Frenkie de Jong on the edge of the box and fed Idah as the Netherlands played with fire once again.

Such was Ronald Koeman’s displeasure with what he had seen that he replaced Daley Blind and Mats Wieffer with Weghorst and Tijjani Reijnders before the restart, and the changes gave his side a better shape.

It took a fine sliding challenge by Browne to deny Xavi Simons a 52nd-minute strike at goal and an avoid an extension of Ireland’s recent record of conceding shortly after the break, but the increasingly influential De Jong fashioned the breakthrough 11 minutes into the second half.

The Barcelona midfielder’s lofted ball over the top was perfectly weighted for Dumfries to turn it across goal and allow Weghorst to stab past Bazunu.

Ireland’s sense of deflation was palpable and although they battled manfully to the whistle, they were unable to trouble Flekken unduly as the visitors eased their way across the finish line.

Republic of Ireland boss Stephen Kenny is targeting his best victory yet as he prepares for a must-win Euro 2024 qualifier against the Netherlands.

The game in Dublin appears to be a make-or break affair for Ireland, who have collected just three points from their first four Group B fixtures and will effectively be out of the race for qualification if they lose to the Dutch.

Memories of a famous Irish victory over the Netherlands in a World Cup qualifier in 2001 have inevitably come to the fore in recent days, but Kenny is reluctant to compare his team to the one in which Shay Given, Roy Keane, Damien Duff and Robbie Keane played.

Kenny said: “We’re not comparing ourselves to the team of 2001, they had some of the best players to ever play for Ireland.

“We’re an emerging team. We’ve shown a capacity to raise our game in front of our own support, our impassioned support and we’ve put in some very good performances at home there.

“It’s a game that will challenge us. Holland have players of the highest calibre, players with the top clubs.

“We’ve gone toe-to-toe with some of the best teams and we must raise our game and get our best victory yet as a team. That’s what we’d have to do and that’s the challenge for us.

“We’ll need the supporters to help us do that, we need that energy in the ground. We need that high-octane support to be really passionate and get behind the team and give the players energy.

“All their physical stats are very high after Paris in the heat, a tough game, so to go again, we’ll need everyone to really fire.”

Ireland finalised their preparations at a sunny Abbotstown on Saturday after recovering from Thursday night’s energy-sapping 2-0 defeat in France.

Defender Enda Stevens and forward Will Keane are out of the game through injury and strikers Sinclair Armstrong and Jonathan Afolabi have been drafted into the squad.

Whatever team Kenny picks, the players will know the stakes could hardly be higher with failure simply not an option.

Kenny said: “We know a victory is important for us, we know how important it is, that’s where it is. We’ll prepare well – as well as we can after just coming back on Thursday night – and make sure we’re ready.

“The players are clear on how we’re going to play and we’ll certainly be tested against this team. We’ll have to match them and we are capable of doing that and we have to show the belief and conviction to try to get the win that we need.”

Defender Shane Duffy, who made his first international appearance since June last year in the game at the Parc des Princes, is a veteran of the 1-0 Euro 2016 victory over Italy and knows he and his team-mates need to summon up a similar spirit to get what they need against the Dutch.

Duffy said: “It’s a huge game. Something we’ve to all thrive off and make it another special night as it’s more memories we can create.

“I think personally the games, they’re memories that I talk about to my children, big nights for your country. It’s another chance for us to make it another special night at the Aviva and make more memories.”

Republic of Ireland boss Stephen Kenny has called on his players to produce the performance of their lives after their Euro 2024 qualification hopes were left dangling by a thread.

A 2-0 Group B defeat in Paris on Thursday evening means Ireland have taken just three points from their first four games, and realistically they need to beat the Netherlands in Dublin on Sunday to stand any chance of progressing.

Speaking in the bowels of the Parc des Princes after an energy-sapping night at the hands of the mesmeric Kylian Mbappe, Antoine Griezmann and Ousmane Dembele, Kenny said: “We’ve just got to get ready for Sunday now.

“We knew that if Holland beat Greece tonight and we beat Holland, we’re level on Sunday. We’ve got Greece at home and Gibraltar away in October, so it’s that big for us. We know it’s that big for us.

“The energy of the home crowd has been special, it’s been electric at home and we need that again on Sunday to pull out the performance of our lives. That’s what we’ve got to do.”

Ireland arrived in Paris knowing they were up against it because of the quality of both the opposition and the heat, and while they battled manfully throughout, the gulf in class – Didier Deschamps was able to bring Champions League winners on from his bench while one of Kenny’s substitutes, James McClean, is currently playing his football with League Two Wrexham – eventually told.

Aurelien Tchouameni blasted the French into a 19th-minute lead as Ireland once again conceded from distance, and the side ranked second in the world never looked back against opponents rated 53rd by FIFA.

They increased their lead three minutes after the restart through substitute Marcus Thuram, a first-half replacement for the injured Olivier Giroud, and although it took a good save by Mike Maignan to keep out Chiedozie Ogbene’s header, the Republic had to defend for dear life to ensure the margin of victory did not stretch beyond 2-0.

Kenny said: “To be fair, obviously France are a world-class team, a really top-class international team, one of the best teams in the world, if not the best.

“But I can’t fault my players. I thought they gave everything really in the match. We were beaten by a better team for sure. For a lot of the players it’s the best team they have played against.

“Of course we could have done better at times, for sure, but everyone gave everything of themselves.”

France boss Didier Deschamps admitted his team could have been more clinical, but was largely satisfied.

He said: “We could have done more, but broadly speaking I’m very satisfied with the result and the performance of the players.

“Kylian did good things, even if he didn’t score. It’s not always Olivier Giroud or Kylian Mbappe supposed to score. It’s more about focussing on the goal, to qualify.

“We had many chances to score, especially from outside the box. We were expecting a good team from the Irish team. With their three defenders, they were very present.

“They created some difficult situations for us, especially if you remember the game in Dublin which was a bit risky for us. It’s a team that plays very deep and there were some difficulties.”

Evan Ferguson has been ruled out of the Republic of Ireland’s upcoming Euro 2024 qualifying matches against France and the Netherlands.

The 18-year-old picked up a knee injury during Brighton’s 3-1 win against Newcastle on Saturday, in which he scored all three of his side’s goals, and after being assessed by national team medical staff has withdrawn from the squad.

He joined up with the team on Sunday but it has been decided that he will not be fit to feature in either match during the current international window, with the squad due to travel to France later on Tuesday.

Stephen Kenny’s team have three points from their first three matches in Group B and need a positive result in Paris on Thursday and against the Dutch in Dublin next week to keep alive realistic hopes of reaching next summer’s finals.

The manager has Norwich’s Adam Idah, Preston’s Will Keane, Hull’s Aaron Connolly and Chiedozie Ogbene of Luton available as his other forward options.

A prayer before making their way into the stadium was the perfect way for the Jamaican quartet to start their bid in the women’s 4X400m relays and they will indeed challenge for a medal at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary.

This, as they booked their spot in Sunday’s showpiece event, after finishing tops in their heat on Saturday.

Cherokee Young, running from lane eight, ran the lead leg for the Jamaicans handing off to Nickesha Pryce, who ran a well-paced leg to send Shiann Salmon on her way.

Salmon did well to maintain the gap for Stacey-Ann Williams, who only had to run steady and true to take the team home in a new world leading time 3:22.74.

They won ahead of Canada (3:23.29), with Netherlands (3:23.75) taking the third automatic qualifying spot.

Great Britain won the second heat in 3:23.33, ahead of the favourites United States, who were later disqualified via Technical Rule 24.7, as they passed the baton outside the takeover zone.

That meant Belgium (3:23.63) and Italy (3:23.86) got second and third respectively, while Poland (3:24.05) and Ireland (3:26.18) got the two fastest non-automatic qualifying spots.

The final will be the curtain-call event of the nine-day Championships at 2:47pm Jamaica time.

Catch live action of the 2023 World Athletics Championships by downloading the Sportsmax App.

Jamaica missed out on the cut for the final of the Mixed 4x400 metres relay, as they could only manage fifth in heat two of the event on Saturday's opening day of the ongoing World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary.

The Jamaican quartet of Demish Gaye, Natoya Goule-Toppin, Malik James-King and Stacey-Ann Williams, running in that order, struggled from the off and was at the back of the pack for the first two legs.

In fact, it was on the third leg that James King tried to force the initiative and gradually made progress, but faded in the latter stages, leaving Williams with much to do on anchor.

Despite facing an uphill task, Williams showed grit and determination to bring Jamaicans from eighth into fifth and ninth across the two heats in a season’s best 3:14.05.

They finished behind the Femke Bol led Dutch team, who won in 3:12.12, followed by France (3:12.25) and Czech Republic (3:12.52), with fourth-placed Germany taking one of the non-automatic qualifying spots.

United States with a World lead 3:10.41, Great Britain, with a national record 3:11.19, Belgium (3:11.81) and Ireland (3:13.90), are the other finalists.

You can catch live action of the 2023 World Athletic Championships by downloading the Sportsmax App.

Bas de Leede produced a dazzling first-ever ODI ton to fire Netherlands to the World Cup with a dramatic four-wicket victory over Scotland.

De Leede starred with bat and ball, picking up a first ODI five-for before smashing 123 with the bat to haul the Netherlands home and punch their tickets to India later this year.

Having put Scotland into bat, Netherlands made the perfect start as Logan van Beek (1/49) struck in the first over to dismiss Matthew Cross (0).

But Scotland steadied the ship through Christopher McBride (32) and Brandon McMullen (106) before opener McBride became the first of De Leede’s five scalps, pulling straight into the hands of Van Beek at midwicket with George Munsey (9) falling shortly after.

But McMullen began to take control of the innings on the way to the second century of his career alongside Richie Berrington (64).

The pair combined for a stand of more than 150 runs to leave Scotland in rude health at 201 for four by the time McMullen was eventually caught behind by Scott Edwards off the bowling of Ryan Klein.

Klein then bowled Michael Leask (1) before De Leede removed Berrington’s middle stump, but Scotland rallied through an unbeaten 38 off 28 balls from Tomas Mackintosh as well as a useful knock from Chris Greaves (18) to set the Dutch 278 in 44 overs to book their place at the World Cup.

Netherlands began their innings quickly, with openers Max O’Dowd (20) and Vikramjit Singh (40) taking just 8.2 overs to bring up their 50 partnership, before Leask trapped O’Dowd leg before.

Leask repeated the trick in his next over, this timing sending Singh back to the hutch as Scotland began to slow the run rate.

Having starred with the bat, McMullen then made his first contribution with the ball with the wicket of Wesley Barresi (11) to leave Netherlands on 94 for three after 20 overs.

Teja Nidamanuru (10) was next to fall four overs later as Chris Greaves earned his first scalp of the afternoon but De Leede (123) and Scott Edwards (25) combined to rejuvenate the Dutch chase, bringing up 50-run stand in just 40 balls before Edwards fell to Mark Watt LBW.

De Leede then opened up, powering past 50 in 55 balls before reaching his century in just 84 alongside Zulfiqar (33), as the pair combined to produce a huge final few overs to surmount the 50 runs required from the final four overs to seal qualification in stunning fashion.

UAE edge USA for ninth

An unbeaten 151 from Asif Khan powered UAE to a narrow victory over USA by just a single run in Harare.

Khan produced an impressive knock to help his side post 308 for four, their highest total of the tournament, but middle over contributions for USA from Monank Patel (61), Aaron Jones (75), and Gajanand Singh (69) set up a grandstand finish.

But the American tail were unable to get their side over the line, as two wickets in the final over from Sanchit Sharma sealed victory.

It was the opening partnership that proved so devastating for UAE, as Sharma (57) and Khan combined for an initial stand of 107 before the former was caught and bowled by Nosthush Kenjige.

Khan was simply unstoppable for UAE, inspiring his side’s total to the brink of 300 alongside Basil Hameed (44), before hitting his 18^th boundary of the innings to set USA 308 to win.

USA started brightly in their chase, with Saiteja Mukkamalla hitting a quickfire 21 off 17 balls alongside Sushant Modani (9) as the Americans raced to 32 off the first six overs before Mukkamalla fell to Muhammad Jawadullah.

Modani followed just two balls later to leave USA 32 for two but Patel and Jones combined to lift their side to a much healthier 144 for three before Patel was bowled by Aayan Afzal Khan with 20 overs remaining.

A rapid 69 from just 44 balls from Singh then shifted the momentum of the match with USA left needing 62 from the remaining 46 balls as Singh was eventually dismissed by Junaid Siddique.

Shayan Jahangir (32) led the final run chase to set up a nervy finish, with USA requiring 11 from the final over to win.

But Sharma dismissed both Nisarg Patel and Ali Khan in the final over to ensure UAE sneaked over the line and sealed ninth.

Sri Lanka and Windies round off Super Six

The Super Six comes to a close tomorrow, as already qualified Sri Lanka take on West Indies in Harare.

Windies have endured a torrid time so far in Zimbabwe, but will be hopeful of ending their campaign with what would be an impressive victory over table-toppers Sri Lanka.

The Lions now know they will face Netherlands in Sunday’s final and will hope to continue their momentum with another strong display.

Describing the West Indies as the worst fielding team in the ongoing CWC qualifiers in Zimbabwe, Coach Darren Sammy believes the team’s consecutive losses to the hosts and the Netherlands, is indicative of the true state of West Indies cricket.

The frustrated head coach was speaking after the West Indies lost to the Netherlands in a super over on Monday which leaves their chances of qualifying for the ICC Cricket World Cup in India hanging by a thread.

Having made 374-6, the West Indies were unable to successfully restrict the Dutch side from getting to 374-9 for a tie and triggering a super over.  Logan van Beek, who scored 28 from 14 balls to get his side to the super over than smashed three sixes and three fours while scoring 30 runs off Jason Holder’s over.

He then took two wickets and conceded eight runs as the West Indies failed miserably in attempting to overhaul, the record-setting 30-run over by the Netherlands.

Sammy said afterwards, that the West Indies were on track for a possible victory but subsequently lost the plot.

“[At the] halfway stage, 374 on the board, I thought the batters did excellently but again it shows you where we are as a team. We were kind of poor tactically. We didn’t stick to the plans as long as possible and we just thought because we had 375 on the board that we should win, but cricket is not played like this,” he said.

“And it’s a lesson for us that you can’t take any game of cricket for granted.”

The head coach who was appointed just last month, believes his team approaching its nadir but remained optimistic about its future.

“I am a very positive thinker and I understand the journey that I have to take with this team. Sometimes you’ve got to reach rock bottom to come back up,” he said.

“I understand the challenges ahead and I also understand that things will not change overnight and it’s a true reflection of where our cricket is at the moment and we have a lot of work to do.”

The loss to the Netherlands means the West Indies, two-time champions, now face the near impossible task of qualifying for the World Cup. They must now win all their Super Six matches while hoping that Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka lose two of theirs and that the Netherlands lose at least one of theirs in order to qualify.

The West Indies will enter the super sixes stage of the ICC World Cup Qualifiers with it all to do after they were stunned in a super over by the Netherlands on Monday.

Teams will take points earned from the group stage into the super sixes if you beat the other qualified teams from your group.

As a result of their losses to Zimbabwe and the Netherlands, the West Indians will enter the super sixes stage with no points while the Netherlands will enter with two and Zimbabwe with four.

The West Indies made a seemingly insurmountable 374-6 from their 50 overs after being put in to bat by the Dutch.

The innings was set up excellently with a 101-run opening stand between Brandon King and Johnson Charles.

Charles was first to go for 54 to bring Shamarh Brooks to the crease to join King. The pair put on a further 59 before Brooks fell for 25.

Captain, Shai Hope, was next to make his way out to the middle and just three runs later, King fell for a well made 81-ball 76 to bring Pooran to the crease.

Hope and Pooran, then, added a further 108 before Hope eventually fell for 47 in the 41^st over.

Pooran, however, batted excellently, smashing the Dutch bowling all over the Takashinga Sports Club, eventually finishing 104 not out off 65 balls including nine fours and six sixes. Keemo Paul also played extremely well alongside Pooran, finishing unbeaten on 46 off 25 balls including four fours and two sixes.

Bas De Leede and Saqib Zulfiqar each took a pair of wickets for the Netherlands.

The Dutch, on the back of a magnificent 111 from Teja Nidamanuru, produced a spirited chase that saw them equal the West Indies score, and make their highest ODI score in the process, finishing 374-9 off their 50 overs.

It was a well-rounded batting effort as they got valuable contributions from Vikramjit Singh (37), Max O’Dowd (36), Wesley Barresi (27) and Bas De Leede (33) at the top of their innings.

It was then a crucial 143-run fifth-wicket partnership between Nidamanuru and Captain, Scott Edwards, that put the Netherlands on the cusp of victory.

Edwards eventually fell for a 47-ball 67 to leave the Netherlands 313-5 in the 45^th over. Saqib Zulfiqar (3) and Nidamanuru (111) then fell in quick succession to leave the Netherlands 327-7 after 46 overs.

Logan Van Beek and Aryan Dutt then batted brilliantly to put on the further 47 needed to prolong the enthralling contest.

Eventually, they found themselves needing 9 from 6 and then one from one before, off the very last ball, Van Beek was dismissed by Alzarri Joseph for 28 off just 14 balls.

The resulting super over gave Van Beek an opportunity to continue the momentum he built during the chase and that is exactly what he did.

He hit a mammoth 30 runs off Jason Holder’s over including three fours and three sixes.

Van Beek was then tasked with bowling the super over to the West Indies pair of Johnson Charles and Shai Hope.

Charles hit the first ball for six before dragging the next ball into the leg side for a single, meaning Hope would need to hit four sixes in a row for victory. The next ball could only produce a single, pretty much ending all hope for the West Indies.

Eventually, the West Indies managed just eight in the super over to give the Netherlands an improbable victory.