The Netherlands are into the final eight of the World Cup after a 3-1 victory against the USA on Saturday afternoon.
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Louis van Gaal decided to stick with the same eleven that defeated Qatar in the final group game, while Christian Pulisic was fit enough to start for the US.
After only a few minutes, Pulisic got a huge chance to put his side ahead but Andries Noppert pulled off a big save to deny the Chelsea forward. The USA dominated possession in the early stages but it was the Netherlands that had the lead in the 10th minute.
A lovely team move which consisted of 21 uninterrupted passes ended with Denzel Dumfries crossing for Memphis Depay to fire in his first goal of the tournament.
After the opener, the Netherlands allowed the USA to pass it around without causing any danger. Noppert had to save well from Timothy Weah, but the Americans appeared toothless up front. Just before the break, Netherlands made it 2-0 with Dumfries crossing for Daley Blind to fire in the second.
At the break, Teun Koopmeiners and Steven Bergwijn came on as the Netherlands looked to take advantage of any space in behind the US defence. It was the Americans that had the first big chance of the second half but Tim Ream could not take it and Cody Gakpo cleared off the line.
The Netherlands had some chances to kill the game but in the 76th minute, Haji Wright diverted a cross into the net with some luck to make it 2-1.
It was set to be a nervy end but in the 81st minute, Blind perfectly crossed for Dumfries to fire in the third and final goal.
Xavi Simons then came on for his debut off the bench as the Netherlands saw out the remaining time to book their place in the last eight.
The Netherlands will now wait to find out who wins between Argentina and Australia. The quarter-final takes place on Friday at 19:00 BST.
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Good performance but the defense looked shaky. I hope Van Gaal will play 2 center backs against Argentina, so either Van Dijk and De Ligt or Van Dijk and De Vrij can play. Argentina attack is much stronger and Van Dijk alone is not enough.
The flying Dutchmen are peaking at the right time. LvG and his men in Orange look good to fly far in Qatar. Well played.
I like the point made by Dr. Coelho, the Dutch may just be peaking at the absolutely right time. Each match I think they have brought more to the table.