The Netherlands punished American defensive lapses and were clinical in front of goal to knock a naive USA team out of the 2022 World Cup. twoht
The Netherlands punished American defensive lapses and were clinical in front of goal to knock a naive USA team out of the 2022 World Cup.Football is a simple game, and the first match of the knockout stages of the World Cup came down to two of the games immutable laws; you need a goalscorer to win games, and you can’t afford to fall asleep against good teams. The USA are out of the World Cup, eliminated by a Dutch team that had too much experience, too much swagger and too much nous for them.
Much as they had been for much of their previous three games, the USA were all heat and no light, possibly an inevitable side-effect of having a team picked from the small squad in the tournament. They controlled possession in the middle of the pitch effectively, but as they approached the Netherlands penalty area they seemed to slow, as though they were running into patches of treacle.
Signs of this toothlessness had been evident throughout the group stage, in which the USA could only manage two goals in three games. Having scored first against Wales in their opening match, they were unable to build on that lead and Wales found a route back into the game with a second half penalty.
But just as when the score was goalless and when it was 1-0 to the Netherlands, the American team suffered for a combination of their inability to put away their chances and a momentary lapse in concentration at the back. The USA defence fell asleep for the third time in the game, Daley Blind crossed from the left, and Man of the Match Denzel Dumfries, who’d already claimed assists for the first two Dutch goals, finished at the far post to put the result beyond any reasonable doubt.
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