Netherlands stroll to victory over poor Qatar as Gakpo impresses
The Netherlands needed just one point to progress, against a Qatar side already out of the WC and cemented in history as the worst-performing host nation of all time.
As expected, the Oranje looked full of zest, and stepped straight onto the front foot. Daley Blind was the first to test Meshaal Barsham early on by forcing him to save at close range, as the Dutch looked to make it nine group stage progressions from as many post-war appearances.
With that strong start soon came yet another goal for Gakpo in the 26th-minute.
The forward drove into the area, before finding the bottom-right corner for his third goal of the tournament, while also becoming the first Dutch player ever to net in three group games during the same World Cup finals.
Qatar’s response was limp at best, and it seemed as though nothing was going to stop the 2010 runners up from powering through Group A.
The second half started in similar fashion to the first, with the Netherlands taking just four minutes after the restart to kill the game.
This time, it was Frenkie de Jong who benefitted, when Barsham’s terrific save to keep out Memphis Depay allowed the midfielder to follow up on the rebound for an easy tap-in to extend his side’s lead.
Though they were now well-beaten, Qatar maintained a certain level of pride even after Netherlands doubled their advantage, albeit without testing Andries Noppert at the other end.
Louis van Gaal's men had time to put the ball past Barsham once again too, but VAR intervened to rule out Steven Berghuis’ finish due to a handball by Gakpo in the build-up.
It mattered not though, as the Netherlands cruised home to win Group A, and set up a meeting with the Group B runners-up, whose identity will be determined later tonight.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Cody Gakpo (Netherlands)
