Doha ∙ The Netherlands, who are facing the USA in the first pre-quarter match of the Qatar World Cup, are leading by two unopposed goals as the second half progresses. Memphis Depay (10th minute) and Dale Blind (45+1) scored for the Netherlands against USA, who were suffocating due to hyperpressing. Morris Dumfries also shone, paving the way for both goals. The Netherlands’ history of not losing after scoring the first goal in 22 World Cup matches since 1978 will give the Netherlands confidence in the second half. At the same time, the USA was shocked to fall behind by two goals despite a good performance in the first half.
The Netherlands took the lead with a good counter attack while the US players were suffocating due to hyper pressing. After a move from his own half, the ball went to Morris Dumfries on the right wing. Memphis Depay hits the ball in the middle of the box with the ball out parallel to the Dumfries post outside the USA box. With the ball at his feet, Depay shot past the US goalkeeper and into the net. Score 1–0.
This is Memphis Depay’s 43rd goal in the Netherlands jersey. Only Robin van Persie (50 goals) is ahead of Depay in terms of scoring the most goals for the Netherlands.
The second goal was a duplicate of the first goal. Only the goal scorer has changed. The second goal started with a throw in the USA half in favor of the Netherlands. Morris Dumfries, who received the ball on the right wing during the advance, once again split the US defense and got close to the box. Dale Blind got his foot on the ball from the right wing into the middle of the Dumfries box. The USA goalkeeper was once again a spectator as the player fired the ball into the left corner of the post. Score 2–0.
Netherlands coach Louis van Gaal fielded his team in the pre-quarters by keeping the same team that played in the last group match against Qatar. On the other hand, the US fans are relieved that injured superstar Christian Pulisic has been included in the starting XI. US coach Berhalter made two changes to the team that defeated Iran in the last group game.
∙ 1st Netherlands, 2nd USA
The USA entered the prequarters by securing the second position behind England in Group B. Christian Pulisic’s goal in the last match was decisive in defeating Iran. In other matches, they drew England and Wales. The Netherlands, on the other hand, qualified for the prequarters with seven points in Group A with two wins and a draw. They won against Qatar and Senegal and drew against Ecuador.
This is the first time since 2014 that the USA is playing in the World Cup prequarters. They are hoping to play in the quarter for the first time since 2002. At the same time, there is also the challenge of not being able to beat European teams in the knockout stage even once in the last 20 years. The confidence of the Netherlands is that they have reached the pre-quarters in all the World Cups played since 1934. He is also confident that he has not lost in the last 18 matches played.
English Summary: FIFA World Cup 2022, Netherlands vs USA Match Live Updates