Czech Republic vs. Netherlands: Winners and Losers from Euro 2016 Qualifier

Kicking off their Euro 2016 qualification campaigns, the Czech Republic and the Netherlands faced each other in an open and relatively equal contest in Prague.

The home side won 2-1, but for a long time, it looked like the match would end in a draw. For the Czech Republic, Borek Dockal had scored with a shot from just outside the box, while Lazio defender Stefan de Vrij had headed one in for the Dutch. 

Then Netherlands right-back Daryl Janmaat made a horrible mistake.

The Newcastle United man tried to head the ball back to goalkeeper Jasper Cillessen, but he hit the post, providing Vaclav Pilar with the opportunity to just tap the ball in. 

After losing their friendly against Italy last week, Oranje have not started well under Guus Hiddink. Apparently, the transition from Louis van Gaal to the new boss is not going as smoothly as was hoped.

Here, we take a look at the winners and losers of Hiddink's first competitive match. 

For a professional footballer, is there anything better than scoring a last-minute winner for your country?

Although it was hardly the final of the World Cup, Vaclav Pilar must be pretty pleased with himself. In fact, he might have seen a dream come true a little bit. 

After Janmaat's horribly judged headed pass back to Cillessen, the Czech Republic man was in exactly the right place at exactly the right time.

He will be remembered as the man who took his country past the Netherlands—a team that finished third at the World Cup a couple of months ago. 

Conversely, Netherlands right-back Daryl Janmaat will be feeling miserable. 

Had he not made his mistake, Oranje would have at least earned a point. While there would still be criticism, there would have at least been a base to work with before the next couple of matches.

Now the Dutch squad will also feel miserable, and there's a real risk a severe lack of confidence will start creating problems among the players. 

As a goalkeeper, it's never fun to have to collect the ball from the back of the net. However, it's especially sour when it happens in the very last minute. 

Like Janmaat, Cillessen will be feeling miserable. He can hardly blame himself, but he is one of the losers from this game all the same.

Cillessen usually makes a solid impression. Hopefully his defenders will help him out next time, rather than cause him problems. 

Buried deep beneath the pile of misery, there is one bright spot for the Netherlands. That bright spot is called Memphis Depay.

The left winger, who has been lighting up the Dutch Eredivisie for PSV this season, started in Hiddink's first XI and made a confident impression. 

Once or twice he even created real danger in and around the Czech Republic's box, and with a bit more luck, he would have scored a goal or provided an assist. 

It might not have happened for him on Tuesday, but it's starting to look more and more likely Depay will have a bright future ahead of him. 

So far, the Dutch have played two matches under Guus Hiddink. They lost both.

Of course, it's difficult to blame the new manager entirely. However, Hiddink did not make a good impression by initially reverting to a 5-3-2 formation and then quickly changing back to 4-3-3 after conceding a goal. 

In retrospect, Tuesday's result also made it seem like Louis van Gaal got the Dutch players to overperform during this summer's World Cup in Brazil.

Will Hiddink eventually manage to do something similar at Euro 2016, or did Van Gaal do something only he can do?