Robin van Persie opened the scoring after 13 minutes, while his cross four minutes before the break was netted by Albania's Nevil Dede to double the lead.

But Marco van Basten's team, having made a good start after their convincing display in a 1-1 draw in Bulgaria on Saturday, slipped to a worrying level.

Albania fought back with Debatik Curri on target midway through the second half.

"We started well, created some chances and scored a fine goal" Van Basten told reporters.

"But as we failed to convert more chances my team got restless.

"I tried to make some chances in the midfield in the second half to build in some more security.

"Some of my players had a poor performance tonight and that is a fact," he said.

LOSS OF CONCENTRATION

Netherlands, with Van Persie as central striker in the absence of the injured Dirk Kuyt and Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, made a fine start with dominating, offensive football.

Arjen Robben created the first danger in the second minute when he outplayed two markers but his curved shot missed the target.

Van Persie opened the scoring 12 minutes later when he netted from 10 metres after a defence-splitting combination by Joris Mathijsen and Ryan Babel.

After 30 minutes of pressure, the Dutch lost their concentration and gave Albania the opportunity to create their first chance when Erjon Bogdani almost surprised Edwin van der Sar.

Dede's own goal gave the Dutch a comfortable 2-0 lead at halftime. The Albanian defender unfortunately turned a Van Persie cross behind his own goalkeeper four minutes before the break.

Curri gave the home side a serious warning shortly after the interval when his fierce shot hit the post and midway through the second half he had more luck and pulled one back.