Netherlands defeated Qatar 2-0 to easily advance to the round of 16 of the World Cup.
No matter what happened between Ecuador and Senegal, the three-time runners-up knew that defeating the tournament’s hosts would guarantee their place in the knockout rounds.
Thanks to goals from Cody Gakpo and Frenkie de Jong, Netherlands finished first in Group A and will now face the Group B runners-up on Saturday because Senegal defeated and eliminated Ecuador.
The Netherlands quickly started to exert pressure on their adversaries, with Daley Blind being the first to force Meshaal Barsham to make a save from a tight angle.
The hosts were troubled by Oranje’s quick exchanges in the final third of the field, and Memphis Depay was the next to go close, volleying over the crossbar after benefiting from a ricochet.
Qatar was still having their moments despite Netherlands’ dominance, and after a string of corners, Abdelkarim Hassan volleyed the ball over the crossbar.
The in-demand PSV Eindhoven forward received a short pass from Davy Klaassen, took a touch, and fired a low shot into the bottom corner from 16 yards out to score for the third game in a row.
After a weaving run by Ismaeel Mohammad, Qatar made an immediate effort to respond, but the rest of the opening period lacked the intensity that existed before the goal.
The Netherlands were already moving on as group winners after Senegal’s victory over Ecuador in the other game, but they stayed focused and quickly doubled their lead after the break.
Depay’s close-range volley was brilliantly blocked by Barsham, and De Jong reacted quickly to poke in the rebound from just a yard away.
After an hour, Louis van Gaal replaced Klaassen and Depay because the Netherlands had complete control of the match. Their replacements, Steven Berguis and Vincent Janssen, believed they had added to the Netherlands’ lead.
Although Janssen set up Berghuis for a simple tap-in, a handball by Gakpo during the buildup resulted in VAR’s timely intervention. While the other game was experiencing drama, this one was teetering to an inevitable conclusion, which suited Netherlands as they attempted to maintain their energy levels.
During the six minutes of extra time, Berghuis’ bad luck persisted as the playmaker saw a gorgeous curling effort strike from the edge of the box hit the crossbar with Barsham clearly outmatched.
However, in the grand scheme of things, it was only a minor disappointment because his country had set up a meeting with either England, Iran, the United States, or Wales in the opening round of the last-16 at the weekend.
The Netherlands defeated Qatar 2-0 in their final Group A match to advance safely to the round of 16 of the World Cup. The Oranje earned three points thanks to goals from Cody Gakpo and Frenkie de Jong, advancing them to the next round as group winners. Qatar, who finished their campaign with three losses, never bothered them.
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