Izuchukwu Okosi
The first round of 16 games of the 2022 FIFA World Cup was played Saturday evening between the Netherlands and USA. The former won 3-1 to set up a potential quarterfinals clash against the winners of Argentina and Australia later Saturday night.
Here are 4 major observations from the game:
1. The Dutch Wingers Nuetralised USAMNT
The speedy Dutch forward players exploited the spaces vacated by the Americans.
The Oranje are usually noted for their wing play of which coach Ruud Van Gaal is an advocate. The coach was well explored while he coached the all-conquering Ajax side of 2004 and 2005. The same Ajax side that won the UEFA Champions League featured the Nigerian duo of Finidi George and Nwankwo Kanu.
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The defensive unit of the Yankees kept a flat line when the Dutch attack from the wings.
But rather than the Netherlands going for the crosses, their wide players cut back the ball and caught the USA side napping as there were no longer men in front of the defence to shield the ball away from goal.
2. Dumfries’ Best Netherlands Game
Inter Milan right back, Denzel Dumfries, unarguably had one of his best games for the Dutch national team Saturday evening as he provided two assists with the cutbacks and then scored the third goal for his team.
The Man of the Match performance was not a shock as Dumfries is one of the best in his position in the world. The former PSV Eindhoven defender made a total of 38 successful passes in the match and is already in contention for the team of the tournament.
3. Turner Proving To Be Threat For Ramdsale
The World Cup may still be ongoing and England looking forward to progressing to the quarterfinals of the tournament when they face Senegal on Sunday night.
However, a battle of the gloves may be witnessed by the time USA goalkeeper Matt Turner returns to London ahead of the restart of the English Premier League.
To start with, despite the elimination of the USA side, Turner had impressive individual game, making some outstanding saves.
Now that USA are out, Turner will head for his deserved few weeks of break before Premier league action returns on Boxing day, December 26.
When indeed the league gets back, Turner must have somewhat been fresher than Arsenal first choice keeper, Aaron Ramdsale.
Ramdsale may not be the Three Lions’ first choice keeper but he is taking part in training sessions. Turner was the one on duty for USA in their World Cup campaign but it remains unknown how far England will go in Qatar.
If Gareth Southgate’s men reach the semifinals stage, it is possible that Ramsdale will join other Arsenal fans (and other Premier League players) to be handed an extended period of break so he would have to miss the Boxing day fixture against West Ham United.
4. USA’s Improved Second Half
The United States of America (USA) had a better second half than the first and had more attempts at goal.
Their industry led to the goal scored by Wright who had initially missed an opportunity to score.
The captain of the USA side in his post match news conference affirmed that the players need to go back to their clubs and continue performing very well with a view to coming back for future tournaments more experienced.
The USA side looked decent and when they co-host the next FIFA World Cup with Mexico and Canada, this team might be stronger than we saw in Qatar.
Izuchukwu Okosi is a Nigerian sports and entertainment journalist with two decades of experience in the media industry having begun his media journey in 2002 as an intern at Mundial Sports International (MSI) and Africa Independent Television (AIT), owners of Daar Communications Plc.
