robben and huntelaar fire netherlands past latvia published: sunday 16 november 2014, 20.07cet netherlands 6-0 latvia guus hiddink's side got back on track in group a with arjen robben and klaas-jan huntelaar both scoring twice in amsterdam.
• the netherlands record second win in group a • robin van persie breaks the deadlock with his 49th oranje goal • klaas-jan huntelaar and arjen robben both strike in each half • psv eindhoven defender jeffrey bruma scores his first international goal • next games: netherlands v turkey, czech republic v latvia (28 march)
arjen robben and klaas-jan huntelaar both struck twice as the netherlands comfortably defeated latvia 6-0 in amsterdam.
eager to make amends for a 2-0 defeat by ıceland last time out, netherlands winger ıbrahim afellay struck a post after just two minutes. robin van persie made no mistake moments later, though, heading in robben's pinpoint cross from the right. afellay and robben both spurned opportunities to extend the hosts' lead and almost paid a high price when valērijs šabala headed just over at the other end.
guus hiddink's side responded in style, robben combining with van persie on 35 minutes and picking out the corner with a wonderful left-footed drive. fc schalke 04 predator huntelaar made it three shortly before the break by prodding in afellay's centre from point-blank range.
the pattern of play remained the same in the second half, with robben hitting a free-kick against the crossbar before firing a shot centimetres past a post. the fourth goal the netherlands had been threatening arrived when jeffrey bruma guided van persie's flick-on into an open goal with 12 minutes to play. robben produced another trademark finish four minutes later, before huntelaar swept past aleksandrs koļinko to surpass dennis bergkamp's international haul of 37 goals.
