The Netherlands advanced to the round of 16 with a 2-0 victory over tournament Qatar on Tuesday evening at Al Bayt Stadium in Khor, Qatar.
The victory gave the Dutch seven points from two wins and a draw, enough to win Group A.
Cody Gakpo, born of Togolese parents who migrated to the Netherlands when he was only a child scored his third World Cup goal which was the first of the game in the 26th minute for the Dutch.
PSV forward, Gakpo, a transfer target of several English sides got a, supposed goal in the 49th minute. However a clear hand ball denied him the opportunity of a hat-trick in the second half.
Barcelona midfielder Frankie de Jong grabbed the second goal of the game for the ‘Oranje’ men with a close finish.
The Dutch coached by Luis van Gaal are now unbeaten in 15 straight group matches, the third-longest streak of all time. They will face the second-place finisher from Group B on Saturday in the round of 16.
The host nation — became the first team to be mathematically eliminated after losing its first two games — they ended the group stage without a point.
The Netherlands will play USA in the round of 16 stage of the tournament this weekend.
Youth has noticeably been a theme for the United States (USA) throughout this cycle and it’s continued in Qatar.
Already with the second-youngest roster at the 2022 FIFA World Cup behind only Ghana, the USA’s two lineups against Wales (25 years, 102 days) and England (25 years, 169 days) were the two youngest Starting XIs in the matches that have been played at the tournament through Sunday evening.
The lineups against Wales and England also ranked as the fourth and fifth respectively in USMNT World Cup history, coming in behind the three Starting XIs that took the field at Italia ’90 (all just over 24 years old), when the squad was made up in part by semi-professional and collegiate players.
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.
In October 2004, Okosi joined Complete Communications Limited, publishers of Complete Sports newspaper and Complete Football magazine as a reporter and later script writer for the Complete Sports studio.
He worked there for 13 years until October 2017.
Okosi also worked various times as Correspondent, Content creator and Editor at Sports Market International Magazine, Opera News, All Nigeria Soccer Media and Iconic Media Watch.
He also undertook freelance writing gigs for some local and international organizations.
Okosi is a member of the Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN), Association of Movie Producers (AMP), Association of Voiceover Artistes of Nigeria (AVOA), Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN) and Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ).
He has been part of cast in some Nollywood movies and radio dramas including Blood Money 2, Scores To Settle, Dead End 2, Another Campus Tale and Battle Line.
Aside mainstream media and the entertainment industry, he has interests in scouting/unearthing of talents in the sports and creative sectors, exports business and property development.
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Izuchukwu Okosi
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