Netherlands have won the Round of 16 Netherlands v USA match 3-1 and progress to the Quarter finals where they were far too strong. The USA did make it interesting in the second half as they closed to 2-1 with 15 minutes to go, but the Dutch replied soon after to see off the challenge.
Round of 16 Netherlands v USA Match Review
Minutes that Mattered
Welcome to the briefest of match summaries, like a minute by minute you find on professional websites except one that has only the minutes that matter. All wheat, no chaff.
And if the below isn’t enough, for those in Australia you can catch up via the SBS World Cup on Demand.
2′ Min Early Chance for the USA. With the ball staying exclusively in the Netherlands half, the USA attempt to take advantage as a ball is played through for Christian Pulisic who shoots and forces a sharp save from Dutch keeper Andries Noppert. The Dutch defence looked a little casual because Pulisic did look offside, and maybe figures VAR would sort it out three minutes later.
7′ Min USA are on top here, and given how the tournament has descended into favourite busting anarchy, might this knockout phase continue the trend? Um, no as it proves mid typing.
8′ Min GOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLL FOR NETHERLANDS
In a rare attack up the field the Netherlands go down the right with a ball out wide for Denzel Dumfries who then fires in a cross to the top of the penalty area where a waiting Memphis Depay then guides the ball past the USA keeper for the opening goal. You could argue against the run of play, but that’s class players for you, going all Bachmann-Turner Overdrive when it is needed.
NETHERLANDS 1 USA 0
12′ Min Hopefully not a sign of the hand brake being pulled on this game already by the Netherlands, but they did go a little Simpsons football for a while – i.e. Halfback back to Winger back to the centre. Holds it. (Kent Brockman version)
13′ Min Chance for the USA. And there’s the difference between the Dutch and USA and the Americans attack down the left and fire in an equally good cross but no one is waiting and the ball goes across the face without love. You’d think with all the bible-work in the USA they’d be super keen for a cross.
28′ Min Corner for Netherlands. In a rare genuine threat for either side for the last ten minutes or so, the Dutch win a corner off the back off some wonderful skill from Memphis Depay who is having a bit of a day out now. Denzel Dumfries comes closest to troubling the scorers, but they weren’t budging when they saw the attempt.
35′ Min And is this our first Klinsmann Trophy nomination from the knockout stage. Memphis Depay is pushed in the back in a contest with a USA defender, but surprisingly is clutching the front of his face after the Dutchman earns a free kick.
41′ Min Best attack of the night for the USA threatening the Dutch goal, but again there’s no quality final pass or player looking for it. The biggest criticism of the USA team so far has been the lack of striker or killing instinct in front of goal, and this proved it to a degree. In saying that a Big Chance for the USA follows immediately as Timothy Weah makes us look like an idiot with a cracking shot from outside the box that requires a sharp save from the Dutch keeper at the near post. The ball trying to sneak in like an underage younger brother at the local nightclub.
45′ Min GOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLL FOR NETHERLANDS
Just as the one minute of added time is announced across the ground the Netherlands make it 2-0. Perhaps the USA weren’t fully expecting it, but a casual throw-in and a few casual passes from the Netherlands finds Denzel Dumfries, who then quickly fires in a cross to the top of the penalty box and Daley Blind is on hand to guide the ball past the US keeper just before the half time whistle in blown.
NETHERLANDS 2 USA 0
The 2-0 deficit is probably harsh on the USA, who had the running early, and looked dangerous on a number of occasions in the first half. But the Netherlands took their chances well when they arose while the USA did not. That’s knockout World Cup football for you.
HALF TIME – NETHERLANDS 2 USA 0
49′ Min So close for the USA…. From a corner scramble USA’s Tim Ream gets a boot on the ball towards goal, and with the keeper beaten despite the slow pace it required Cody Gakpo to clear off the line, the Dutch forward working hard to make a living down the other end of the field.
50′ Min Netherlands nearly make it 3-0 and it is that man Dumfries again with a cross that almost gets the dreaded own goal from the USA. Someone’s going to have to do a mid pitch running magic trick with fire to take the player of the match title off Denzel Dumfries at this point. Maybe if Memphis Depay scores a second goal.
53′ Min A couple of great chances for the USA. This game isn’t over yet, literally with more than 30 minutes left on the clock of course, and figuratively as the 2-0 scoreline looks daunting for the US but they are still trying their best to break that. We guess the big worry at 2-0 down for the USA is they only scored two goals in the three Group Stage games…..
58′ Min A shout out to Christian Pulisic who earned his team two free kicks in quick succession from genuine Dutch fouls when he was on the attack, but didn’t need to roll around on the ground like he had been set on fire or had avoided a stadium sniper.
61′ Min Big chance for Netherlands. Gakpo and Depay combine and the latter’s cracking shot is tipped over the bar by the US keeper.
71 Min Double save from Matt Turner. The US keeper is on fire as he saves a thunderous shot from outside the box by batting the ball down, then saves the follow up attempt from close range from Memphis Depay.
74′ Min Huge chance for the USA. A woeful backpass to the keeper under pressure from Memphis Depay sees recently subbed on Haji Wright intercept for the USA and although he beats the keeper his shot to the near side post is cleared by a Dutch defender for a corner.
75′ Min GOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLL FOR USA
The USA have broken through for their first goal and it is game on. From the corner after the nearly-goal as above, Christian Pulisic rolls in a cross along the six yard line and in a blur of white and orange kits somehow the ball hits the back heel of Haji Wright and it pops up and clears the Dutch keeper and everyone else and lands in the net for a goal. That backpass the origin of this goal.
NETHERLANDS 2 USA 1
81′ Min GOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLL FOR NETHERLANDS
What were we saying about Denzel Dumfries? The provider turns scorer for a third Netherlands goal which should see off the USA challenge at this stage of the match. The cross comes from the left via Daley Blind and the ball clears most of the players in the middle of the box, but not Dumfries who is hanging out at the back post by himself and he side foot volleys the ball in the goal.
NETHERLANDS 3 USA 1
86′ Min Corner for the USA ends in a failed overhead kick and you’d have to think the USA needed a goal in that moment to test the Netherlands.
90′ Min Six minutes of added time to come for this match. That’s pretty low for this World Cup, but equally, not much has happened to stretch out the added time to six minutes.
Nothing more interesting than substitutions happen in added time, and so the Netherlands win 3-1 and progress to the Quarter finals where they will meet the winner of Argentina v Australia which is determined in just a few hours.
For the USA you’d have to rate it a mildly successful World Cup, and it is a young side that will benefit from the experience. They also need to benefit from a goal scoring forward over the next four years.
Final Score
NETHERLANDS 3
Memphis Depay 8′ Daley Blind 45′ Denzel Dumfries 81′
USA 1
Haji Wright 75′
HT Netherlands 2-0
Player of the Match
Denzel Dumfries
Round of 16 Netherlands v USA Match Stats
Round of 16 Netherlands v USA Starting Teams
NETHERLANDS (3-4-1-2)
23 Noppert
2 Timber
4 van Dijk
5 Aké
22 Dumfries
15 de Roon
21 de Jong
17 Blind
14 Klaassen
8 Gakpo
10 Depay
USA (4-3-3)
1 Turner
2 Dest
3 Zimmerman
13 Ream
5 Robinson
6 Musah
4 Adams
8 McKennie
21 Weah
9 Ferreira
10 Pulisic
