The Netherlands tops Group A of the World Cup
Qatar became the first World Cup host in history to leave the tournament without winning a point, after losing three matches to Ecuador, Senegal and the Netherlands. They were outclassed for 90 minutes at Al Bayt, when the Netherlands didn't seem to give it their all and still won 2-0. Gakpo continued to shine in the 2022 World Cup with a solo phase to open the scoring, before Frenkie de Jong sealed the victory at the beginning of the second half.
Gakpo made his debut for the Netherlands team at the age of 22, at Euro 2021 as a substitute. But after just over a year, he was indispensable in the attack of coach Louis van Gaal. Receiving the ball from Davy Klaassen near the left border after 26 minutes, Gakpo broke through the middle and shot from the edge of the penalty area to the far corner to knock out the Qatar keeper. The three goals he scored in the group stage were from header, left foot and right foot, respectively. In Dutch history at the World Cup, only one player has ever scored in those three divisions, being Wesley Sneijder in 2010.
The Netherlands scored 13 times in the match, while Qatar only had five chances. The dominance of the orange team was maintained into the second half. Just four minutes into the break, Klassen hung the ball from the right into the penalty area, and a home defender headed the ball to Memphis Depay's spot in the second post. The former Man Utd striker shot from close range to hit the goalkeeper Barsham, but De Jong quickly rushed to the empty net.
The European representative also sent the ball into the net in the 68th minute with a close-range cushion from Steven Berghuis, but the goal was disallowed because Gakpo let the ball touch his hand while creating an opportunity. In the second half, Berghuis regretted when his heart cut hit the crossbar. But a 2-0 scoreline was enough for the Netherlands to top Group A with seven points.
The Netherlands also increased their unbeaten streak in the World Cup to 17 matches, if only the results of the two main periods were counted. The last team to win them right from the two main halves is Portugal in the round of 16 of the 2006 World Cup in Germany.
The Netherlands will meet the second team of Group B in the round of 16, on December 3 at Khalifa International Stadium. A day later, the runner-up of Group A Senegal will meet the winner of Group B at Al Bayt Stadium.
Hà Lan: Andries Noppert, Daley Blind, Nathan Ake, Virgil van Dijk (đội trưởng), Jurrien Timber, Denzel Dumfries, Marten de Roon (Koopmeiners 83), Davy Klaassen (Berghuis 66), Frenkie de Jong (Taylor 86), Cody Gakpo (Weghorst 82), Memphis Depay (Janssen 66).
Qatar: Meshaal Barsham, Pedro Miguel, Abdelkarim Hassan, Abdelaziz Hatem (Alaa 85), Hassan Al-Haydos (Asad 64) (đội phất), Akram Afif, Ismail Mohamad (Khidir 85), Homam Ahmed, Assim Madibo (Boudiaf 64) , Boualem Khoukhi, Almoez Ali (Muntari 64).
