BREAKING

Argentina, Netherlands through to FIFA World Cup 2022 Quarter Finals

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
4 Dec 2022 00:01

The Dutch overcome the USA to book a quarter-final spot, and Argentina moved into the quarter-finals with a win over Australia.

Brenden Aaronson of the USMNT and the Netherlands' Frenkie de Jong battle for the ball during their last-16 match on Saturday. (Photo: Elsa/Getty Images)

The Netherlands put on a World Cup finishing masterclass on Saturday by beating the USA 3-1 and advancing to the quarter-finals.

The Dutch enjoyed less possession than the USA at the Khalifa International Stadium but handed out a painful lesson in finishing to their opponents.

First-half goals from former Manchester United stars Memphis Depay and Daley Blind and a late strike from Denzel Dumfries secured a deserved victory for Louis van Gaal's team.

"We always want to improve and, since the start of the tournament, it's been getting better and better with each game," said Van Gaal who said he had torn into his players at half-time, even though they were leading 2-0.

"We suffered in the first half, we were dispossessed so often and that's not acceptable at a World Cup," he added. "If you play like that against top countries, you won't make it."

For the United States, the team enjoyed plenty of the ball but was hampered by the lack of a cutting edge.

It failed to make history at the 2022 FIFA World Cup, displaying obvious deficiencies that were exposed by the No. 8-ranked Netherlands in the Round of 16.

USA coach Gregg Berhalter's men went back home after scoring only three goals in their four matches.

"I'm proud of this group for the way we handled ourselves," Berhalter said as he remained optimistic about the team's effort throughout the tournament.

Still, the defeat to the Netherlands brought to the forefront a series of issues the US must address as they look to the 2026 tournament. Berhalter admits "disappointment" as the US could not secure a second-ever quarterfinal berth in Qatar; however, he feels there is a clear foundation on which to build.

Argentina beat Australia to reach World Cup quarter-finals

Argentina moved into the quarter-finals of the World Cup with a 2-1 win over Australia which set up a last-eight clash with the Netherlands.

In the 35th minute, Lionel Messi scored his first-ever goal in a World Cup knockout round tie, and Julian Alvarez added the team's second just before the hour mark.

The game was Messi’s 1000th career game, and he was making his 119th appearance for his country.