Ake helps the Netherlands to dramatic EURO 2024 qualifying win over Greece | OneFootball

City's Nathan Ake featured as the Netherlands secured a dramatic 1-0 win away to Greece thanks to a 93rd minute penalty to provide a huge boost to their EURO 2024 qualifying hopes.

Elsewhere, Joao Cancelo scored and Ruben Dias featured as Portugal – who had already qualified for next summer’s Germany showpiece - maintained their dominant stranglehold on Group J with a 5-0 win away to Bosnia and Herzegovina.

For Blues defender Ake and the Netherlands, the win in Athens means their qualification hopes are now firmly in their own hands going into next month’s final two Group B games.

Ronald Koeman’s side were dominant in Greece but had found home goalkeeper Odysseas Vlachodimos in inspired form.

The Nottingham Forest keeper produced a string of superlative saves to keep the Netherlands at bay, the pick of them being a first half penalty block to deny Wout Weghorst.

But just when it looked like both sides would settle for a point, the Dutch were awarded another spot kick in the 93rd minute following a lengthy VAR check for a foul and Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk kept his cool to convert the penalty

The result leaves the Netherlands in second place in Group B on 12 points from six games, with Greece lying third also on 12 points from seven.

November’s final games see the Netherlands at home to the Republic of Ireland and then away to Gibraltar. Greece meanwhile must travel to group winners France who have already qualified.

There were no such headaches for Portugal as they swept Bosnia and Herzegovina aside.

Roberto Martinez’s side had already qualified for next summer’s Germany showpiece boasting a 100 per cent record.

But that didn’t stop the Iberian nation featuring Dias and Cancelo – who is on a season long loan at Barcelona – from overpowering their Bosnian hosts in Zenica with Portugal racking up all five goals in the first half.

A fifth minute Cristiano Ronaldo penalty set the ball rolling with the Portuguese captain doubling his and his country’s tally on 20 minutes.

Bruno Fernandes made it 3-0 five minutes before Cancelo also got in on the scoring act just past the half hour.

And Joao Felix then made it a nap hand shortly before the break as Portugal continued their impressive qualifying campaign.

Bernardo Silva was an unused substitute.

Meanwhile the qualifier between Belgium and Sweden, where Jeremy Doku was on the bench for the hosts, was abandoned at half-time with the score tied at 1-1 due to a serious security incident in Brussels which occurred shortly before the game.