FULL-TIME: Netherlands 3 USA 1
The Dutch are through to the last eight to play Argentina or Australia. Tougher tests lie ahead you imagine as the USA underwhelmed today, with the Dutch doing a job on them in the first half. Second half was even but Netherlands were always in control.
USA could not deal with the Dutch wing backs today. Blind with a goal and an assist, Dumfries with a goal and two assists. It’s not too often in the past that a Van Gaal team would have less possession than an opponent like USA. This is not total football but it’s effective tournament football and the Netherlands will be tough to beat in the next game.
Up next is Argentina against Australia at 7pm. Build-up from around 6pm. See you then.
94 mins: Aaronson tries to get past Blind but no luck. Blind been spot on defensively and offensively today.
90 mins: Just a few minutes left for America to force an unlikely extra time. The Dutch counter and some lovely touches by the subs Simons and Bergwijn, USA escape though. Six additional minutes.
85 mins: Young Xavi Simons on for his debut for the Dutch. Pulisic dribbles and great slip pass for Wright but van Dijk pokes the ball away. Corner from Pulisic falls to Zimmerman who flicks himself up and overheads well wide. Audacious.
81 mins: GOAL FOR NETHERLANDS! Blind with a perfect cross under no pressure to Dumfries unmarked and it’s a volley into the corner. Fantastic delivery but poor defending from USA.
78 mins: Wright is nearly through again! But Noppert comes out and clears the ball. Dutch now break and Depay plays in Bergwijn but misses the shot wide. Pulisic comes down the pitch but hits a shot straight at the keeper. USA pushing forward.
77 mins: GOAL FOR USA! From the corner, cleared then Pulisic runs down the wing and Wright, who missed the chance earlier now scores. Lucky or brilliant? Whatever, it bamboozled the keeper and it’s in the corner and USA are back in it.
75 mins: Reyna with a good dribble from the wing but van Dijk knocks him off balance and he slices it wide. Depay gets the ball... and gives it back to Wright in front of goal. Terrible pass, and Wright takes an awful touch too wide and misses the shot, saved off the line.
72 mins: Corner goes to van Dijk but he heads it over, could have done better there. Gakpo wins the ball off Dest, Koopmeiners shot from distance is palmed to Depay, who heads it and Turner with great reflexes to save the second. Good save.
67 mins: Robinson down injured and gets medical attention. USA bring on Brendan Aaronson for Tim Weah, Wright on for McKennie. Some great defending by Timber winning the ball, could be a future star in defence, only 21 years old. Him, Van Dijk and Ake have been rock solid.
65 mins: Dumfries goes to ground in the box but no penalty. USA counter but Weah’s shot is blocked by van Dijk. Dumfries is back on his feet and dispossesses Pulisic. Game has opened up.
62 mins: Netherlands counter, Gakpo dribbles and gets it to Depay who blasts from the edge of the box and Turner has to tip it over.
59 mins: Pulisic’s free kick is cleared by USA, Adams with another ball in headed away by Van Dijk. Another free kick as Koopmeiners gets a yellow card for tackling Pulisic.
53 mins: McKennie with good skill and releases Pulisic but his shot is straight at the keeper. Reyna gets involved and plays to McKennie on the edge of the box but hits a decent shot over the bar on his left.
50 mins: Depay runs at the defence but hits the pass too strongly for Bergwijn. He crosses into the box and Blind tries to backheel but gives it away. USA counter and Weah’s cross is blocked by Aké. The corner is knocked off the line by Gakpo after Ream tried to poke it in. Then the ball comes down the other side of the pitch, another great cross by Dumfries but Zimmerman gets a crucial touch to the keeper and they escape.
Lively start to this half.
48 mins: Substitutions at half-time Bergwijn and Koopmeiners on for Netherlands, Reyna on for USA.
HALF-TIME: Netherlands 2 USA 0
Very disappointing half for USA after a bright start. Netherlands scored with their first chance of the game and just sat back as USA huffed and puffed but ultimately couldn’t create. Another sucker punch at the end of the half by the Dutch and they’re comfortably ahead at half-time. Berhalter will have to come with a new plan if he’s going to break through that strong Dutch defence.
45 mins: GOAL FOR NETHERLANDS! Daley Blind. Netherlands haven’t come to play much, but when they have they have been devastating. Throw-in, Klaasen gives to Dumfries and it’s the same ball again, this time Blind finishes in a similar way to Depay! Two up now.
43 mins: Weah breaks through, falls to Pulisic but he overhits the pass poorly in the box and they don’t get the shot away. Nice dribbling by Dest with four players around him and it falls to Weah outside the box and he belts it at pace at the keeper, well saved by Noppert.
40 mins: USA with plenty of possession, not able to creat a chance though against a strong Dutch defence.
34 mins: Again Ream gives the ball away, he’s been poor on the ball so far. Van Gaal has done a number on Berhalter so far, USA struggling to make space or chances.
28 mins: USA struggling a bit in possession as the Dutch sit back. Turner takes a dodgy touch and has to clear it. Dutch defensive shape is excellent so far. They then counter through Depay who twists and turns and wins a corner. More stereotypical Italian style than Dutch so far, but it’s working for Van Gaal’s team who look very solid.
21 mins: Mistake by Ream from a long ball by van Dijk. Depay takes on a shot from a difficult angle on the edge of the box to the right but he pull it wide of the post.
18 mins: Good break by Robinson but well defended by the Dutch. Musah dispossessed by Klaasen in midfield and Gakpo breaks and lays off to Blind but he hits a terrible shot over the bar.
15 mins: Pulisic gets in behind but Dest loses the ball after a good interception by De Jong. He plays in Gakpo who runs at the defence but he’s held back and lays it off, the attack comes to nothing. Americans are a bit out of kilter since that goal.
11 mins: GOAL FOR NETHERLANDS! Better play from the Dutch as they play to the wing with one touch football. Lovely pull back from Dumfries to Memphis Depay on the edge of the box and clinical finish into the corner. Their first real chance of the game.
9 mins: Pulisic with a great cross into the box and Aké has to make a desperate header. Tim Ream gives away the ball and Netherlands get into USA’s box for the first time but Depay scuffs his pass.
6 mins: USA with much of the play so far as the Dutch struggle to get a hold of the game. America with some good interplay. Dumfries makes a good tackle to win a corner. Pulisic’s corner is overhit and misses everyone.
3 mins: Chance! Positive start by USA with some early possession. Pulisic almost scores immediately as the ball falls to him in the box as McKennie kicks the ball in and he has one on one with the keeper. Noppert makes a strong save though.
Tactically, both teams will lineup in their usual formations, it appears. 4-3-3 for USA and 5-3-2 for Netherlands. USA are likely to press high and hard as per the previous matches, which might suit Frenkie De Jong, one of the most press resistant midfielders in the world.
The Dutch have lacked a bit of flair so far but the return of Memphis Depay to the forward line was much welcomed, alongside Gakpo. USA have competed with everyone in midfield so far, with Leeds’ Tyler Adams standing out, but their finishing hasn’t always been up to scratch. They need a big game from Timothy Weah in that respect.
Earlier in the tournament, read this feature about Netherlands’ star man in attack Cody Gakpo. He became the first Dutch player to ever score in his first three World Cup games, a feat the likes of Johan Cruyff, Marco Van Basten and Dennis Bergkamp could not match.
“Behind the 23-year-old’s modesty and focus on the unit is the confidence that has fuelled scores of his national team predecessors. They may need it: a potentially revitalised Argentina would be their opponents in the quarter-finals if a hitherto wild tournament reverted to type from here.”
[ Gakpo blazing a lone trail for stuttering NetherlandsOpens in new window ]
Head to head: The Netherlands and USA have never played a competitive match against each other, always refreshing to see new match-ups. USA won their last encounter, a friendly in 2015, by a score of 4-3. Would be great to see something like that again. The previous four times the teams met, the Netherlands won.
Hardly a historical grudge match then. Speaking of which, if you want to catch up on yesterday’s action, Ken Early writes grudge matches carry an extra bite – sometimes it can be too much to bear. Instead of taking vengeance on Suárez for 2010, Ghana produced their worst performance of 2022 and instead South Korea ended Uruguay’s campaign.
The teams for today’s game are out:
USA’s key attacker has been included Christian Pulisic after an injury in scoring the winner in the previous game. But striker Josh Sargent does not make it after hurting his right ankle. MLS player Jesus Ferreira starts up front, while Walker Zimmerman replaces Cameron Carter-Vickers in the defence.
The Dutch have stayed with the same starting line-up that beat Qatar in their last group game on Tuesday, with Cody Gakpo and Memphis Depay as the attacking duo and Maarten de Roon in a midfield enforcer role alongside playmaker Frenkie de Jong.
Teams:
United States: Matt Turner, Sergino Dest, Walker Zimmerman, Tim Ream, Antonee Robinson, Tyler Adams (capt.), Yunus Musah, Weston McKennie, Christian Pulisic, Tim Weah, Jesus Ferreira
Netherlands: Andries Noppert, Denzel Dumfries, Nathan Ake, Virgil van Dijk (capt.), Jurrien Timber, Daley Blind, Marten de Roon, Davy Klaassen, Frenkie de Jong, Cody Gakpo, Memphis Depay.
Hello and welcome to live coverage of the first of the knockout games in the World Cup, the Netherlands against USA in the Khalifa International Stadium in Qatar. Netherlands and USA are two of only five unbeaten teams left in the tournament (along with Morocco, England and Croatia) after a whirlwind group stage, as they avoided any major mishaps.
Netherlands have relied on their strong defence so far led by captain Virgil van Dijk, conceding only one goal, while young PSV star Cody Gakpo has scored three times. USA’s high and energetic pressing has caused problems for all their opponents so far, it’s something to watch out for if they can maintain their strong first half performances into the second half and beyond, where extra time and penalties is a possibility.
Kickoff is at 3pm.
