The group stage of the World Cup in Qatar has barely ended when we are entitled to the knockout matches, with the first round of 16 between the Netherlands, leaders of pool A and the United States, dolphin of group B behind England, who will play Senegal later in the evening of Sunday (8 p.m., match to follow on our live commentary). The Oranje, absent from the 2018 edition, were keen to repeat their last journeys in the World Cup, with a last four in 2014 and a defeat in the final in 2010. For its part, Team USA, also deprived of the last World Cup , already achieved a course similar to his last two participations but hoped to avoid a premature exit from the competition.
To do this, Gregg Berhalter trusted his attacking leader Christian Pulisic on the left lane alongside Jesus Ferreira, who was playing his first minutes in the World Cup, and Lille’s Timothy Weah. On the Louis van Gaal side, the Batavian coach found Memphis Depay and Cody Gakpo for his attacking duo, accompanied by Klaassen in number 10, while Virgil van Dijk accompanied Jurrien Timber and Nathan Aké in the three-man defense. From the start of the match, the United States quickly put pressure on their opponent of the afternoon in the game. The first chance of the start of the match was to their credit, through Pulisic , whose left foot strike was captured by Andries Noppert (3rd).
Dumfries been there
Nevertheless, following a superb collective movement (20 passes before the goal according to Opta), Depay unlocked the mark on the perfect cross from Denzel Dumfries behind the penalty spot, which he took with the inside of his foot to deceive Matt Turner (1-0, 10th). The rhythm of the first period calmed down over time, with few offensives on both sides, before the Oranje woke up at the best of times, after a dangerous strike from Weah before added time (43rd). Still very present and moving on his right lane, Dumfries, in the same scenario of the opener, found Daley Blind in the area to crucify the opposing goalkeeper (2-0, 45 + 1st) to confirm the advantage in the score and allow Louis van Gaal to return to the halls of the Khalifa International Stadium with a two-goal lead.
Returning from the locker room, Gakpo turned into the last defender to deflect Zimmerman’s attempt following a corner, saving the ball on his line (49th). Behind, Matt Turner kept his teammates in the match as best he could, defeating the Dutch with much better offensive intentions at the start of the second act (50th, 62nd, 71st, 75th). What give some hope to Team USA, which reduced the mark on the center of Pulisic in a not very academic way (2-1, 76th). This first goal motivated the American fans, who pushed their players into a strong American moment in the last half hour. But Dumfries showered Gregg Berhalter’s men at the end of the game thanks to Blind, who served Dumfries at the far post to find the net and secure the qualification for the quarter-finals of this World Cup a little more. Despite six minutes of additional time, the Netherlands keep their advantage of two goals against the United States and will therefore play the winner of Argentina-Australia, scheduled for this Saturday evening at 8 p.m.
