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Netherlands, Belgium draw in battle of lowlands

Netherlands, Belgium draw in battle of lowlands

By REUTERS

Belgium soccer team players pose for a photo ahead of the Euro 2016 Group E soccer match between Belgium and Italy at the Grand Stade in Decines-Charpieu, near Lyon, France, Monday, June 13, 2016. Photo: AP

AMSTERDAM: Belgium's Yannick Carrasco grabbed a late equaliser to secure a 1-1 draw against the Netherlands in a friendly at the Amsterdam Arena on Wednesday. Carrasco’s left-foot shot in the 82nd minute took a deflection and looped over Maarten Stekelenburg to reward the visitors for sustained second-half pressure. Jan Vertonghen had fouled Jeremain Lens to present the home side with a 38th-minute penalty which Davy Klaassen blasted past Simon Mignolet to give the Dutch a halftime lead. The home team might have had an earlier penalty when Mignolet came out to clear a short back pass from Laurent Ciman and clattered into the onrushing Vincent Janssen, who was forced off not long afterwards with a head injury. The Dutch also lost Stijn Schaars to a muscle problem and Lens went off with a hamstring injury in the second half ahead of their World Cup qualifier in Luxembourg on Sunday. Belgium, who play Estonia in a World Cup qualifier on Sunday in Brussels, had chances, Romelu Lukaku squandering a close-range opportunity and Kevin de Bruyne going close twice before he went off just past the hour mark. De Bruyne’s first-half header was just off target and a free kick was palmed away by Stekelenburg. Lukaku, who came on for the final 25 minutes, missed a golden chance from Eden Hazard's cross. Central defender Vincent Kompany, due to play his first international in more than a year, pulled out of the Belgian starting line-up just before kick-off after experiencing discomfort in the warm-up.