Van Gaal praises record breaker Van Persie

Posted Sunday, October 13, 2013 by YAHOO Sport

Louis van Gaal heaped praise on Robin van Persie after he became Netherlands' record goalscorer with a hat trick in Friday's 8-1 demolition of Hungary.

Van Persie's treble moved him on to 41 goals for his country - surpassing Patrick Kluivert's previous record of 40 - as Kevin Strootman, Jeremain Lens, Arjen Robben, Rafael van der Vaart and a Szilard Devecseri own goal added to a comprehensive dismantling of their opponents, despite Oranje having already qualified for World Cup 2014.

Van Gaal was delighted to see the Manchester United star go ahead of the former Barcelona striker's tally but was equally thrilled at the ruthless manner in which his whole side approached Friday's encounter.

"This [breaking the record] is a great achievement," the coach told SBS6. "But ultimately it is all about the way the team puts him in contention. The best part of the evening I found [was] that we were trying to squeeze them for 90 minutes

"This is a difficult process to squeeze after losing possession. It's the first time we were able to keep going. The whole team put in a performance, we took a big step tonight."

Netherlands faces Turkey in its final Group D match on Tuesday as the team aims to complete its qualifying campaign unbeaten.