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Netherlands could fail to reach a major finals for the first time since 2002 as their Euro 2016 qualifying campaign draws to a tense conclusion. Danny Blind’s side must beat Czech Republic at home today, and hope third-placed Turkey lose against Iceland, to secure a play-off place.

“We’re still alive and that’s what we must focus on,” said Blind.

Iceland and Czech Republic are already assured of the two automatic qualification places in Group A.

Netherlands finished third at the 2014 World Cup under Manchester United-bound Louis van Gaal, who was replaced by Guus Hiddink.

But Hiddink left in July after a poor start to their European qualifying campaign, with assistant coach Blind taking over.

Now the Dutch – champions in 1988 – are on the brink of failing to reach a European Championship for the first time since 1984.

With Turkey holding a two-point lead over Netherlands, the Dutch can only qualify if they beat the Czechs and Turkey lose.

If the Dutch win and Turkey draw, Fatih Terim’s team will advance into next month’s play-offs by virtue of their superior head-to-head record.

A 1-1 draw in Amsterdam was followed by a 3-0 win for the Turks in the return fixture, giving them the edge should the two teams finish level on points.

Defeats in their opening two away qualification matches – in Czech Republic and Iceland – left Netherlands facing an uphill task to reach France automatically next summer.

They recovered with a thumping 6-0 home win against Latvia, but then lost momentum when they drew against Turkey in their next competitive match.

A 2-0 victory in Latvia in June turned out to be Hiddink’s last match, but Blind’s promotion has not yet turned around their fortunes.

Two defeats in four days in September – at home to Iceland and then in Turkey – extinguished their hopes of automatic qualification.

But the Dutch had hoped they would still leapfrog Turkey on Saturday.

Blind’s side won 2-1 in Kazakhstan – but the Turks secured a surprise 2-0 win over the Czechs in Prague to remain in third.

“That was a big disappointment for us,” added Blind.

“It’s actually the same situation that we had before Saturday’s matches but this is our last chance.”

At the 2014 World Cup, Netherlands beat Spain and hosts Brazil en route to the semi-finals.

But since Van Gaal left for Old Trafford, the Oranje have struggled.

Van Gaal’s preferred 5-3-2 formation, with emphasis on rapid counter-attacking, was dispensed with by Hiddink, who returned to the classic Dutch style of attacking 4-3-3 football.

That, however, failed to bring positive results, leading to Hiddink losing his job.

The squad remains broadly the same as the one Van Gaal led at the World Cup, though the influence of key attacking trio Robin van Persie, Arjen Robben and Wesley Sneijder has been affected by age, form and injury. — BBC Sport