Netherlands Leaves England on Bubble : Soccer: Dutch as good as in World Cup after 2-0 victory. England’s coach complains about officiating.

ROTTERDAM, Netherlands — In the cool of an autumn night in a stadium teeming with nationalists, fanatics and fervent believers in soccer, a cliche died hard Wednesday night.

The maxim that the Netherlands produces players of extraordinary skill but little heart was erased when its national team, beset with trouble and an underachieving record in recent international competition, held England at bay and won, 2-0, in their penultimate World Cup qualifying match before a crowd of about 46,000 at Feyenoord Stadium.

The victory almost assures the Dutch of a ticket to next summer’s 24-team World Cup, which will be held in the United States. The loss still affords the English a mathematical chance to qualify, albeit a very slim one.

English Coach Graham Taylor was in a sour mood, arguing that his team’s precarious situation is less the work of his players and more the work of the referee.

“We’re looking for not a minor miracle; we’re looking for a major miracle,” Taylor said. “It’s a long, long shot. But if you see what happened tonight, you’ll think anything is possible. What the hell is going on here?”

The referee made three pivotal calls, one of which led directly to a Dutch goal. But the Dutch also were denied one in the 40th minute, when Frank Rijkaard’s apparent goal was disallowed because the Dutch were called offside.

The controversy flared in the second half.

In the 57th minute, England’s Andy Sinton raced up the right wing and controlled a high pass, chested the ball and passed ahead to David Platt. Platt dribbled forward, and appeared to advance into the penalty area when he was pulled down from behind by Ronald Koeman.

Referee Karl Josef Assenmacher of Germany called for a free kick, rather than a penalty kick. The English players protested to no avail. English defender Tony Dorigo’s kick was blocked.

Three minutes later, the same situation presented itself on the other end of the field. When Denis Bergkamp was tackled from behind, the Netherlands was awarded a free kick. Koeman’s kick was blocked, but he was presented with another chance because the English wall had moved closer than the allowable 10 yards. His second kick curled over the wall and went in.

“I’ve never been a person to make excuses, but I can only say how I feel,” Taylor said, angry about the non-call on Platt. “If the referee decides it’s a free kick and not a penalty, that’s his decision, and I’m not going to argue with it. But if anyone can argue that David Platt was in any position other than scoring position, I don’t know what they are looking at.”

Holland’s hero was Bergkamp, who was in need of redemption. The 24-year-old was sold to Inter Milan in the Italian league for $23 million, but he has scored only one goal this season.

His poor form held in the first half. After eight tightly played minutes, Bergkamp found himself unmarked and the ball at his feet in front of the goal. His hurried shot flew well over the crossbar. A similar scenario presented itself in the 34th minute, and again Bergkamp sent a shot high over the bar.

But as the second half dawned, Bergkamp woke up. He had three good chances in the first 10 minutes and played with pace and flair as a decoy and in passing the ball to others.

His goal, to give the Dutch the 2-0 lead in the 68th minute, offered a glimpse at his much-discussed ball control. He was again unmarked. But Bergkamp was still about 30 yards from the endline and not yet a threat to score. But then his sharp shot across the grain--he was running right and shot left--found the back of the English net.

After the goal, the Dutch fans began to chant, “U-S-A, U-S-A,” a reminder to England of their expected travel plans.