Status: 11/29/2022 5:54 p.m
The Dutch national team entered the round of 16 of the World Cup in Qatar as group winners. The “Elftal” lived up to their role as favorites against the hosts and won 2-0 (1-0).
Cody Gakpo (26′) and Frenkie de Jong (50′) scored for the 1988 European champions, who set the tone over the entire distance but kept having artistic breaks in his game. However, the “Oranje” team was also able to safely use its strength against the Qataris, who were once again overwhelmed in terms of football.
The hosts, who had already been eliminated after two defeats, showed a decent performance within the scope of their possibilities, but only moved on par with the Europeans in some phases of the game. “We played against a big team. Our players really gave their all to stand up to them. It worked for a while. The players gave their all. It was a great experience for them,” said coach Félix Sánchez.
Qatar weakest host in World Cup history
Qatar is the weakest host in World Cup history. Prior to the desert nation, only South Africa were eliminated as tournament hosts in the group stage in 2010. The “Bafana bafana” had landed at least one victory and scored four points.
Netherlands dominant, but too imprecise
As expected, the Dutch dominated the action from the start. Against the Qatari, who are very deep and compact in their own half, the “Elftal” rarely acted decisively enough in the first half. The “Oranje” team often missed the right time to play and got caught up in the multi-legged defense of the disciplined defending hosts.
What annoyed Netherlands coach Louis van Gaal even more than the not particularly exciting offensive performance were some hair-raising bad passes in the build-up game.
Qatar does not use midfield spaces
Qatar was able to win the ball a few times in the center and initiate counterattacks. A good team would quite likely have used one of these switching opportunities to create a significant chance or at least an interesting conclusion. But Qatar are not a good team yet, as the first two group games proved.
Gakpo breaks the spell
It was all the more astonishing how difficult it was for the Dutch to face an opponent with limited footballing skills before half-time. The lengthy game was reminiscent of a first-round match in the DFB Cup between an amateur club and a Bundesliga club. Of course, only the backdrop was much larger, even if many tiers in the Al Bayt Stadium remained empty.
Scored 1-0: Cody Gakpo.
Image: Getty Images
The Dutch fans among the onlookers had to wait until the 26th minute before Gakpo scored the redeeming 1-0. The attacker from PSV Eindhoven was successful with a low shot after a one-two with former Bremen player Davy Klaassen. It was the third tournament goal for the 23-year-old.
De Jong makes the decision
After Gakpo’s goal, the “Elftal” missed to add more before half-time. But that wasn’t much of a cause for concern for the Dutch against the harmless hosts. And when de Jong increased to 2-0 shortly after the change of sides, the preliminary decision had already been made.
Of course, veteran coach van Gaal was also aware of this. The 71-year-old took the opportunity to get his key players Klaassen and Memphis Depay off the pitch early (66′). They were able to save energy for the round of 16.
Senegal follows the Netherlands into the round of 16
In this, the Dutch will meet the runner-up next Saturday (12/3/22, 4 p.m.). Group B. Senegal secured second place in Group A behind the Netherlands after beating Ecuador 2-1.
Source: sportschau.de