Netherlands knocks out the United States and advances to the quarterfinals of the World Cup
The Netherlands produced a clinical attacking performance and survived a brief scare to beat the USA 3-1 and qualify for the quarter-finals of the 2022 World Cup.
The Orange were not afraid to let the ball go for nothing in the first half, where goals from Memphis Depay and Daley Blind made the difference before the break.
The Stars and Stripes showed promise in attack and reduced the deficit through Haji Wright with 14 minutes remaining, but the dominant Denzel Dumfries scored Holland’s third soon after to send the Americans home.
Returning from a pelvic injury, Christian Pulisic slipped in behind the Dutch defence, but his attempt only managed to find the long legs of goalkeeper ‘Andries Noppert’.
The Stars and Stripes were soon to pay the price for failing to capitalize on their explosive start, with a quick attack from the Netherlands ending with Depay scoring after a clear Dumfries cut-back on 10 minutes.
The pressure was undermined by Team USA after Depay’s first goal as Gregg Berhalter’s side had fewer chances on the ball and the Dutch defense remained relatively quiet for the rest of the first half, save for a shorthanded goal just before halftime. .
Timothy Weah fired into Noppert’s palms with a well-placed volley in the 43rd minute, but Holland doubled their lead in stoppage time with a copy of Depay’s opener as Dumfries found Blind at left-back to finish down the first time. In the network
The second half started as frantically as the first, with the USA just inches from going down when Tim Ream headed the ball home from a corner, but Cody Gakpo was on hand to clear the line in the 48th minute.
Matt Turner had to follow up to prevent Walker Zimmerman from scoring an own goal after the American defender slipped to block a Dutch cross, but the Stars and Stripes refused to wave the white flag.
However, the USA’s futile attacking attempts were easily controlled by the Netherlands, who could have weakened in the 73rd minute but saw Turner make a brilliant double save from Teun Koopmeiners and Steven Bergwijn.
A Wright shot was deflected off the line by Dumfries just two minutes later, but the American striker unorthodoxly broke the Dutch resistance just 60 seconds later with Pulisic’s cross over a struggling Noppert and into the side of the net .
Momentum came suddenly with the USA but Holland restored their two-goal advantage just five minutes after Wright’s reply as Blind turned provider for an unmarked Dumfries to calmly score at the near post.
The Netherlands comfortably cruised through the latter stages and will now meet Argentina or Australia in the quarter-finals, where the Group C winners and Group D runners-up met in the round of 16 on Saturday night.
Lineups:
Scorers:
Netherlands
45′ Daley Blind
81′ Denzel Dumfries
76′ Haji Wright
Yellow Cards:
