Netherlands marched into the last 16 of the World Cup as Group A winners after beating host nation Qatar 2-0 at the Al Bayt Stadium in their final group game on Tuesday. Cody Gakpo’s third goal of the tournament and a second from Frenkie de Jong sealed the win for Louis van Gaal’s side.
The Oranje finished the group stage with seven points, having previously beaten runners-up Senegal by the same scoreline and drawn 1-1 with Ecuador.
The three-time runners-up will try their best to end their wait for the World Cup trophy, but a stern test awaits them against the United States who remain unbeaten in Qatar.
Netherlands will look to their star man Gakpo to put in another match-winning performance while also relying on the Barcelona duo De Jong and Memphis Depay. At the back, Matthijs de Ligt and Virgil van Dijk will be tasked with building a wall to deny Christian Pulisic and co a chance at goal.
USA progressed to the knockouts with a 1-0 win over Iran on Tuesday night thanks to a 38th minute strike from Chelsea’s Pulisic. The win saw the Americans finish two points behind Group B winners England.
On paper, the US will be underdogs against the Netherlands – but that was also the case against England whom they matched in a goalless draw at the Al Bayt Stadium. Gregg Berhalter’s side registered 10 shots to England’s eight, and the closest either side came to scoring was when Pulisic rattled the crossbar on 33 minutes.
Following the handful of upsets we’ve had in Qatar, coupled with their unbeaten run at the World Cup, having a punt on the United States may be rewarding given their 33/10 price.
As stated before, USA know that they’ll be underdogs heading into this match, but they’ll look to use that label as motivation and defy the odds.
Write the USA off at your peril – that is the warning from coach Berhalter ahead of his side’s last-16 clash with Netherlands.
