The United States men’s national team was eliminated by the Netherlands in the round of 16 of the 2022 FIFA World Cup on Saturday. First-half goals from Memphis Depay and Daley Blind brought the team down by Gregg Berhalter as the Americans left Qatar with a 3-1 loss to the Dutch after a respectable campaign in the group stage. The Netherlands will face the winner of Argentina and Australia in the quarter-finals on Friday.
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It was a game that showed how much the USMNT still had to grow as it was exposed to Dutch counters. This is an American team that did not concede a goal in open play in the group stage before Saturday. Denzel Dumfries dominated the wing with two assists and a goal to his name.
The Americans were without Josh Sargent, who hasn’t dressed due to an ankle injury, and they missed his presence with the lack of movement and space on offense. From being too fast in their passing games to not going back on the Dutch counters, the United States were rocked by the play that Dutch coach Louis van Gaal had been preparing for.
On the first Dutch goal, Coady Gakpo made room for Depay to overtake the United States midfielder and end the chance created by Dumfries. Again before half-time, a full-back Sergino Dest was caught off guard by Blind to finish in a back-to-back goal that brought the Dutch style of play home. Changes came at half-time with the entry of Gio Reyna in place of Jesus Ferreira, but that wasn’t enough to get back into the game. Haji Wright pulled a goal back from a crumbling Netherlands before Dumfries capped their excellent game with an 81st-minute goal to put things out of sight.
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