The Netherlands faced the USA in the first match of the Round of 16 at the Khalifa International Stadium. However, the Van Gaal boys defeated the USA by a 3-1 margin to go to the quarterfinal of the FIFA World Cup. Netherlands will now face Argentina or Australia in the quarterfinals of the Qatar World Cup.
As it happened
As the champion of Group A, the Netherlands played against the USA tonight. Netherlands boss Louis Van Gaal changed his usual formation in this match. He played his team in a 3-4-1-2 formation, where Memphis Depay led the attack with Cody Gapko. Moreover, the manager used three center-backs with two wing-backs.
On the other hand, the USA boss set up the team formation with 4-3-3. Christian Pulisic was in doubt before the match, but he recovered well and started from the very first minute.
However, the USA looked very aggressive in the first few minutes. They could have scored an early goal if Pulisic didn’t miss the chance in the 5th minute. But the dutches took control of the match eventually. The Netherlands took the lead in the 10th minute as Memphis Depay scored a stunning goal from a counter-attack.
After that, the USA became desperate to find an equalizer. They highly pushed the opponents. Moreover, the USA had more possession on the ball. But due to the poor finishing, they couldn’t score in the first half. Furthermore, they conceded the second goal in the additional time of the first half. This time, Donny Blind scored a goal with Denzel Dumfries’s assist.
Returning from the break, the USA kept searching for a goal. They fought for their lives to score, but the dutches defended well. In the 75th minute, the USA could have scored, but Denzel Dumfries cleared the ball from the goalline to deny them. But within two minutes, the USA got a goal as Haji Wright scored that goal with the help of Christian Pulisic.
Scoring this goal, the USA became more aggressive. But Netherland’s defenders were rock solid at the back. However, the dutches got their third goal just before the full-time whistle. In the 81st minute, Denzel Dumfries scored this goal with a stunning volley. After that, both side couldn’t score more in the remaining minutes. As a result, the Netherlands won the match and have secured a place in the quarterfinals.