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Netherlands, Italy and Belgium all struggle

By WTOP Staff

ANDREW DAMPF
AP Sports Writer

ROME (AP) — The Netherlands fell to another surprising loss and fellow continental powers Italy and Belgium also struggled in European Championship qualifying Monday, while Croatia showed off its goal-scoring credentials.

Meanwhile, Wales stayed atop Group B with a 2-1 win over Cyprus and is on course to qualify for its first major championship, with the 2016 tournament in France expanded to 24 teams for the first time.

Swansea midfielder Gylfi Sigurdsson scored both goals as Iceland beat the Netherlands 2-0 to hand coach Guus Hiddink his third loss in four matches since taking over after the World Cup.

The win kept Iceland perfect in three qualifiers and left it level atop Group A with the Czech Republic, which got its third straight win by beating Kazakhstan 4-2 in Almaty.

Italy labored to a 1-0 win at tiny Malta, where Graziano Pelle scored on his debut. The Azzurri are tied for the Group H lead with Croatia, which routed Azerbaijan 6-0.

Belgium trails Wales after a 1-1 draw at Bosnia-Herzegovina.

The top two finishers from the nine groups qualify automatically. The best third-place team also qualifies automatically, and the other eight can qualify through a playoff.

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Group A

Iceland beat the Netherlands for the first time in 11 meetings to heap pressure on Hiddink.

Sigurdsson scored scored twice before the break. He converted from the penalty spot in the 10th after Stefan de Vrij had brought down Birkir Bjarnason and volleyed powerfully into the roof of the net in the 42nd after the Dutch defense failed to clear a corner.

“It really is painful that we lost here,” said Dutch captain Robin van Persie.

But he refused to blame Hiddink.

“Guus is a fantastic coach,” Van Persie said. “We are all working as hard as we can to play well.”

Turkey remained anchored to the bottom of the group with Kazakhstan after gaining its first point with a 1-1 draw at Latvia.

After opening its campaign with a 2-1 win over the Netherlands and beating Turkey by the same score on Friday, the Czechs wrapped up victory over Kazakhstan inside an hour thanks to goals by Borek Dockal, David Lafata and Ladislav Krejci.

The hosts showed off their prowess at set pieces with two late goals by Yuri Logvinenko from corners, on either side of a fourth Czech strike from Tomas Necid.

In Latvia, Bilal Kisa opened the scoring for Turkey shortly after halftime with a long-range shot and Valerijs Sabala equalized with a 54th minute penalty.

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Group B

World Cup qualifier Bosnia-Herzegovina is in trouble after earning only two points from three games, allowing a victory over Belgium to slip away through the fingers of goalkeeper Asmir Begovic, who fumbled an easy second-half shot from Radja Nainggolan in a 1-1 home draw.

Meanwhile, Wales consolidated the lead in the group by beating Cyprus 2-1 to sit one point ahead of Israel, which swept past Andorra 4-1.

Wales has seven points from three games with Israel on six and Belgium on four from two games. Cyprus has three points.

In the matchup of the only two nations from the group who reached the World Cup finals, Bosnia took the lead in the 28th through captain Edin Dzeko before Belgium got the equalizer through Nainggolan in the 51st minute.

“This is a difficult away game, so this is a solid result,” said Belgium captain Vincent Kompany.

In Cardiff, Wales took a two-goal lead within 23 minutes through early strikes from substitute David Cotterill and Hal Robson-Kanu and somehow still made it a cliffhanger after Vincent Laban got Cyprus back into the game by halftime and Wales midfielder Andy King was sent off in the 47th.

In Andorra, Omer Damari scored a hat trick for Israel and Tomer Hemed added a penalty strike in injury time for the easy win.

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Group H

Italy hit the goal frame four times but only Southampton forward Pelle could truly find the target against 155th-ranked Malta.

Making his international debut at the age of 29, Pelle took advantage of a loose ball inside the box following a corner in the 23rd minute.

Both Malta and Italy finished with 10 men. Malta captain Michael Mifsud was shown a direct red card for a foul on Alessandro Florenzi in the 27th even though replays showed there was hardly any foul at all.

Still, Malta put up stiff defensive resistance the rest of the way and Italy defender Leonardo Bonucci was sent off for a last-man foul on Andre Schembri in the 73rd.

In Croatia, Ivan Perisic scored twice and Andrej Kramaric, Marcelo Brozovic, Luka Modric also added goals. Plus, there was an own goal from Rashad Sadygov

Also, Norway beat Bulgaria 2-1 with goals from Tarik Elyounoussi and Havard Nielsen. Norway’s 15-year-old midfielder Martin Odegaard became the youngest player to appear in a European Championship qualifier when he came on as a second-half substitute.

Croatia and Italy lead with nine points each, Norway has six, Bulgaria three and Malta and Azerbaijan zero.

“Having points in the table should give us confidence,” Italy coach Antonio Conte said. “We won but we could have been more decisive in front of the goal. There’s margin for improvement.”

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Don’t Settle for Student Loans to Pay for Online Education

By WTOP Staff
Online college programs are becoming a more popular choice for prospective students, with one study finding that more than 6 million students enrolled in at least one online course in fall 2015. The popularity of these courses can be attributed in part to their flexibility with working adults' schedules, students' ability to progress more quickly through online programs and, oftentimes, cheaper tuition. [See 10 low-cost online bachelor's programs for out-of-state students.]Online degrees can be beneficial to many college students, but some studies have shown online learners complete their programs at lower rates than students at traditional brick-and-mortar campuses. Individuals with student loans but no degree comprise two-thirds of defaulted borrowers. Though these numbers are not encouraging, just like for traditional programs, there are ways to reduce how much you'll need to borrow for an online program to ensure you won't become one of these statistics. Don't just settle on borrowing student loans to cover the whole cost of your program and living expenses. Instead, start thinking about how to cut costs and cover your balance in different ways, such as the following. -- Grants and scholarships: Even though you are taking an online course, you can still apply and receive grants and scholarships. But your first step should be to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, commonly referred to as the FAFSA, which will allow you to receive a Pell Grant if your expected family contribution is low enough. The EFC criteria and award amounts are adjusted annually, but the 2017-2018 academic year awards range from $606 to $5,920, which could significantly lower the amount you borrow annually. Your next step is to apply for scholarships. You can start by checking online scholarship search engines, such as the Salt Scholarship Search, College Board's BigFuture and Peterson's. But don't forget to take advantage of local organizations and your school's financial aid office. Both may offer scholarships that you can't find with a national scholarship search. [Review these 10 sites to kick off your scholarship search.]For instance, organizations like the Elks Club, Knights of Columbus or the Rotary Club typically offer scholarships annually to local students. Just because you're going to school online doesn't mean you're ineligible. Visit your local library for scholarship listings, and ask around town. You might be surprised how many local organizations offer scholarships. While these scholarships typically aren't large, every little bit counts. Each dollar you receive in a scholarship is a dollar you don't have to borrow and pay interest on. -- Work-study: Another option for online students may be work-study awards. Not all students enrolled in online programs are eligible, but students at some schools -- including, for example, SUNY Empire State College and Liberty University -- are. Work-study awards are not given upfront like scholarships and grants. In most cases, they are an offer to earn up to the awarded amount if you secure an eligible work-study job. While there is a misconception that all work-study jobs must be on campus, students can work for off-campus, nonprofit or public employers as long as the work is in the public's interest. You may be able to work for a for-profit employer if the job is relevant to your course of study. No matter who the outside employer is, it will need to have an established agreement with your college for you to receive work-study funds. Remember, to be eligible for federal financial aid, you must be enrolled and pursuing a degree or certificate. If you're not working toward a credential, Pell Grants and work-study won't be option, but you may still be able to take advantage of private scholarships -- just be sure to read the eligibility criteria carefully. [Explore what to know about financial aid in online programs.]-- Pay as you go: One of the great benefits to enrolling online is the flexible schedule, which can allow you to complete your college coursework around your responsibilities. But prospective students often overlook using their part- or full-time job earnings as an option for paying for college. Almost 80 percent of college students in 2015 worked at least part time while attending classes, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. By budgeting and thinking strategically about your college costs, you can likely reduce your dependence on student loans by paying a portion out of pocket. Many -- but not all -- online programs are less expensive than traditional programs and often have shorter payment periods. Six, eight or 10 weeks are common course durations. Because of the frequency of payments in an online setting, you may be well-placed to pay as you go and possibly avoid borrowing altogether. Attending college online and avoiding student loans may be challenging, but if you are willing to put in the effort, you can limit the amount you need to borrow. More from U.S. News Q&A: Understanding Student Loan Discharge Eligibility Student Loan Refinancing Isn't Right for All Borrowers
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