Netherlands v USA: Key moments as the Dutch book quarter-final spot
Haji Wright netted one of the most bizree goals seen at this year's World Cup, but it wasn't enough for the USA who went crashing out of the tournament.
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Read our as-it-happened commentary below:
90+7' There will be no more action in this match as the referee signals full time.
90+3' Cody Gakpo goes off the pitch and Wout Weghorst (Netherlands) comes on.
90+3' Louis van Gaal has decided to substitute Nathan Ake and he is replaced by Matthijs de Ligt (Netherlands).
90+2' The substitution is prepared. Jordan Morris (USA) joins the action as a substitute, replacing Antonee Robinson.
87' Wilton Sampaio shows a yellow card to Frenkie de Jong (Netherlands) for a tough tackle.
82' The referee signals that it is time for a substitution and Xavi Simons (Netherlands) will replace Memphis Depay.
81' 3 - 1
Denzel Dumfries (Netherlands) meets a perfect cross from Daley Blind deep inside the box and controls it with a nice first touch. He produces an accurate strike inside the left post. It's 3:1.
78' Steven Bergwijn (Netherlands) finds space inside the box to shoot after collecting a short pass, but it's a wasted effort as it flies well wide of the left post.
78 'Andries Noppert displays his ability to read the game and clears the danger after Haji Wright (USA) threatened to latch onto a through ball from just outside the box.
76' 2 - 1
GOAL! Superb work from Christian Pulisic, who plays a vital role in the build-up. He squares it to Haji Wright (USA), who beats Andries Noppert with a brilliant shot into the left side of the net. 2:1.
75' Substitution. DeAndre Yedlin (USA) on for Sergino Dest.
75' Haji Wright (USA) strikes the ball towards the right side of the goal despite being in a difficult position, but his shot is intercepted by one of the defenders. The linesman points to the corner flag, USA are going to take it.
71' Teun Koopmeiners (Netherlands) places a shot from the edge of the box towards the left side of the goal, but Matt Turner makes a terrific save to deny him. Nice play all round! Memphis Depay (Netherlands) tries to nod in a rebound. His close-range effort is denied by the goalkeeper, who pulls off a stunning save.
67' Gregg Berhalter decides to make a substitution. Weston McKennie will be replaced by Haji Wright (USA).
67' It's time for a substitution. That's the last involvement from Timothy Weah as he is replaced by Brenden Aaronson (USA).
60' Wilton Sampaio shows a yellow card to Teun Koopmeiners (Netherlands) for his blatant foul.
54' Giovanni Reyna plays the ball through an opponents legs to Weston McKennie (USA), who shoots from the edge of the box. The keeper scrambles across his line but the shot rises just over the bar.
50' The ball from the corner kick lands at the feet of Tim Ream (USA) deep inside the box and he takes a shot. The strike heads towards the right post, but it's deflected away thanks to a wonderful intervention by one of the defenders.
46' Gregg Berhalter has made a change at the break. Giovanni Reyna has come on in place of Jesus Ferreira (USA).
46' There will be a change on the pitch for the second half. Louis van Gaal probably wasn't satisfied with the performance of Marten de Roon (Netherlands). He is replaced by Steven Bergwijn.
46' Half-time substitution. Davy Klaassen is replaced by Teun Koopmeiners (Netherlands).
46' The game restarts for the second half.
45+2' Wilton Sampaio blows his whistle to signal the end of the first-half action.
45+1' 2 - 0
Goal! Daley Blind (Netherlands) takes a short pass from Denzel Dumfries in his stride in the box, jinks inside his man and unleashes an unstoppable shot inside the left post. 2:0.
10' 1 - 0
Goal! Great play by Denzel Dumfries releases Memphis Depay (Netherlands) in space on the edge of the box. He spots the keeper off his line and coolly puts the ball into the left side of the goal. 1:0.
3' Christian Pulisic (USA) blows a clear opportunity to score a goal. He was one-on-one with Andries Noppert inside the six-yard box and attempted to put the ball into the right side of the target, but was denied by a great save.
1' The first half has just begun.
Pre-match:
His captain Virgil van Dijk believes he can “go to the moon and back” such is his potential, but he’s only got to go to the Khalifa International Stadium next, where they take on the USA.
Finding the net has been no problem for Louis van Gaal’s side, as they’re unbeaten since losing at the same stage of last year’s European Championships (W13, D5) so they’ll want to put those bad memories behind them as they prepare for a first ever competitive head-to-head against the USA (Friendlies: W4, L1). While the last meeting was a 4-3 defeat in 2015, a similar outcome seems unlikely as they’ve conceded just once across their last five games (W4, D1).
Coincidentally, the 2018 World Cup round of 16 opened with a seven-goal affair (France 4-3 Argentina) but to further dampen hopes of a repeat, Greg Berhalter’s side only scored twice during the group stage (W1, D2), finishing with a highly-charged 1-0 win over Iran. One edge they can claim over the Netherlands is ample recent experience of winning knockout games having produced three straight 1-0 victories to claim last year’s Gold Cup.
Holding England to a 0-0 draw in the group stage should give a youthful USMNT squad, many of whom should feature when they co-host in 2026, renewed belief they can compete with Europe’s finest. Making it this far is something US forward Timothy Weah described as the "stuff of dreams" but they’re not done yet as they target a first World Cup quarter-final appearance since 2002, the last time the tournament was played in Asia.
Netherlands starting XI: Andries Noppert - Jurrien Timber, Virgil van Dijk, Nathan Ake - Denzel Dumfires, Marten de Roon, Frenkie de Jong, Daley Blind - Davy Klaassen - Cody Gakpo, Memphia Depay
USA starting XI: Matt Turner - Sergino Dest, Walker Zimmerman, Tim Ream, Antonee Robinson - Tyler Adams, Weston McKennie, Yunus Musah - Timothy Weah, Jesus Ferreira, Christian Pulisic
Players to watch: Gakpo has scored an impressive five times across the Netherlands’ last six internationals, opening the scoring in his last four goalscoring international outings. USA's key man is Christian Pulisic, and three of his last four goals for USA were match-openers.
Hot stat: USA haven’t scored after half-time in five matches (W1, D3, L1).
World Cup trivia: The Netherlands were the first team to use 23 players in a single World Cup, doing so in 2014.
