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Netherlands hammer Hungary 8 - 1

Netherlands may have qualified for the World Cup last month, but that did not stop them having an impact on the fight for the play-off spot in Group D as they hammered Hungary 8-1 in Amsterdam.

Hungary started the night in second place but ended it wounded and behind Turkey and Romania as the Oranje turned on the style on a night of celebration in the Dutch capital.

Playing like this, Louis Van Gaal's team will inevitably be among the favourites to win in Brazil.

Robin Van Persie -- unusually short on goals for Manchester United this season -- led the way with a hat-trick, with Kevin Strootman, Jermain Lens, Rafael Van der Vaart, Arjen Robben and a Szilard Devecseri own goal all contributing.

Hungary's only response was a penalty from Balazs Dzsudzsak, and they look to have squandered their chances.

It was a thrilling show from Netherlands, in keeping with most of those they have produced throughout a dominant qualifying campaign.

Two minutes had gone when they fashioned their first chance, with Jeffrey Bruma's header hacked clear by Vilmos Vanczak.

Van Persie then tried his luck from distance but found the same player in the way, before the striker scored with 16 minutes on the clock.

Darryl Janmaat's cross picked him out and, although his contact was not clean -- perhaps off his shoulder -- it was good enough to leave Adam Bogdan without a chance.

Lens looked to make it two but shot over, although with 21 minutes gone he crossed for Strootman, with the in-form Roma midfielder doing the rest from six yards.

Lens would get his goal, though, crashing in from the edge of the box with eight minutes to go to the break.

Hungary's seeming lack of interest in putting up a fight was apparent and Netherlands quickly hit the post twice, with both Janmaat and Strootman denied a fourth.

But the home side were cutting through so easily that the inevitable fourth arrived before the break.

Robben, surprisingly marginalised at that point, chimed in to cross for Van Persie, who did the rest with his head.

It had been a truly woeful opening 45 minutes from Hungary and the soul-searching at the break bore fruit as they responded two minutes after the resumption.

Bruma handled in the box and Dzsudzsak stepped up to convert and get his side on the scoresheet.

It was the briefest of responses, though. Van Persie snaffled his hat-trick with a 52nd-minute finish from another Robben cross, and then Devecseri put through his own goal just after the hour.

Van der Vaart then rapped one in from 25 yards as Hungary waited for the final whistle, which eventually came -- but not before Robben had hit the spot with a 20-yard free-kick.