Toothless USA eliminated from World Cup as Netherlands expose talent gap

AL RAYYAN, Qatar -- The US men's nationalist squad are retired of the 2022 World Cup aft falling 3-1 to the Netherlands successful a round-of-16 match-up.

First fractional goals from Memphis Depay and Daley Blind -- some assisted by Denzel Dumfries -- staked the Dutch to a pb they would ne'er relinquish. The US pulled a extremity backmost successful the 76th infinitesimal done Haji Wright, and piled connected the pressure, but Dumfries added the clincher successful the 81st infinitesimal to springiness the Netherlands immoderate needed breathing room.

For the US, it was a disappointing show fixed the team's occurrence successful getting retired of the radical stage, and the talented-though-young radical of players astatine manager Gregg Berhalter's disposal.

Now the US volition look to constituent to 2026 erstwhile it volition co-host the World Cup alongside Canada and Mexico.

JUMP TO: Player ratings | Best/worst performers | Highlights and notable moments | Postmatch quotes | Key stats | Upcoming fixtures

Rapid reaction

1. Dumfries connected occurrence arsenic Dutch execute adjacent cleanable tactical plan

The USA entered this crippled brimming with confidence, having reached the knockout stages with the second-youngest squad successful the tournament. That assurance was enhanced by the cognition that this Netherlands broadside was possibly not up to the standards acceptable by their predecessors that had reached 3 World Cup finals, the past of which was successful 2014.

But the Dutch showed the spread successful prime that inactive exists betwixt the 2 sides.

Dutch manager Louis van Gaal's tactical crippled program was ruthlessly effective. The Dutch were contented to fto the US person possession and past onslaught successful modulation erstwhile possession was gained. It had the effect of asking the US to bash things it wasn't bully at, namely breaking down an organized defense. It besides accentuated immoderate of the Netherlands' strengths, that of utilizing its method quality to play done the US property and make modulation opportunities.

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Dumfries was the biggest beneficiary, and the prime from the Netherlands was evident connected Depay's extremity successful the 10th minute. The Oranje played done the US property to find Dumfries connected the wing, and his debased transverse recovered Depay successful excessively overmuch space, allowing him to decorativeness with authority.

The Netherlands past delivered a slayer successful archetypal fractional stoppage time, and again it was Dumfries who delivered yet again, with a akin chopped backmost walk that Blind hammered home. The US threw everything guardant successful a bid to backmost successful the match, and gained a lifeline done Wright's goal. But it was near to Dumfries to supply the capper, hammering location Blind's lofted ball.

2. USA lacked sharpness each implicit the field

It each could person been truthful different. With the crippled successful conscionable the 3rd minute, Tyler Adams walk implicit the Dutch defence recovered Christian Pulisic successful the clear, but his left-footed changeable was saved by Dutch goalkeeper Andries Noppert.

We'll ne'er cognize what would person happened if the US had gotten its chemoreceptor successful front. Perhaps it lone delayed the inevitable, but it forced the US into an unfamiliar presumption -- that of playing from behind.

There were different chances too. Sergiño Dest made immoderate promising forays from the close wing, but couldn't get that past important interaction to get a wide look astatine goal. And Pulisic had different accidental to tally successful space, lone for his centering provender to beryllium excessively acold down 2 runners successful the box.

The problems weren't conscionable connected the attacking extremity either.

The US defence had been stone coagulated up to this point, but was riddled with problems connected this night, the biggest of which was an inability to sniff retired danger. Adams started retired the Dutch's archetypal goal-scoring series up of Depay, but failed to spot his tally and was respective yards down him erstwhile the Dutchman rifled his changeable home. Dest was 1 of respective culprits connected the 2nd goal, but failed to announcement Daley Blind ghosting into the box.

The subpar play from practically the full squad counts arsenic a large disappointment for the US This was wide viewed arsenic the astir talented American squad successful its history. Now the US volition person to hold until 2026.

Will Berhalter beryllium the 1 to pb them? That is up for debate. While helium did good to get the US retired of the radical stage, the deficiency of playing clip for Reyna remains puzzling. The Americans' caller past of giving managers a 2nd rhythm hasn't worked retired good either, with some Bob Bradley and Jurgen Klinsmann some failing to marque it to a 2nd World Cup.

3. The USA's deficiency of a striker comes backmost to wound them

There are immoderate things a squad can't tally from, and the US had 2 large concerns entering this tournament. One was interest astir the center-backs, and portion the organisation wasn't to the level of erstwhile games, wide Tim Ream, Walker Zimmerman and Cameron Carter-Vickers held up well.

But the different concern, the deficiency of a No. 9 who tin reliably people goals, ne'er did get solved. Jesus Ferreira was fixed the commencement successful this match, and ne'er looked comfy with the tempo of the game. It was, aft all, the FC Dallas player's archetypal lucifer since Oct. 24.

Ferreira was replaced astatine halftime by Gio Reyna who took turns with Pulisic successful playing arsenic a mendacious 9 relation -- but that tactical maneuver lone lasted astir 20 minutes, arsenic Haji Wright entered the lucifer successful the 65th minute. Wright's lone extremity for the Americans successful the 76th infinitesimal appeared to beryllium purely accidental.

The show of Reyna playing successful that spot volition nary uncertainty instrumentality successful the craw of galore US fans, arsenic it's a determination that they've been clamoring for since the commencement of the tournament.

In immoderate respects, Berhalter's manus was forced fixed that Josh Sargent wasn't disposable to play owed to the ankle wounded helium picked up against Iran. But it seemed similar Reyna should person had much minutes, and trying him arsenic a mendacious 9 should've been tried earlier.

The spread astatine the striker presumption was illustrated adjacent further with Wright's introduction. He squandered a glorious accidental successful the 75th infinitesimal erstwhile picked disconnected an errant backmost pass, lone for a dense interaction to fto him down truthful that his eventual changeable was cleared disconnected the line. Even his extremity seemed borne much of luck, erstwhile his deflection of Pulisic's transverse someway looped into the net.

Finding a solution astatine that presumption remains a precedence for the adjacent cycle, careless of who the manager is.

Player ratings

US: Turner 6, Robinson 4, Ream 5, Zimmerman 6, Dest 4, Musah 5, Adams 4, McKennie 5, Pulisic 5, Ferreira 3, Weah 5.

Subs: Reyna 6, Wright 5, Aaronson 5, Yedlin 5, Morris 5

Netherlands: Noppert 7, Aké 6, van Dijk 6, Timber 7, Blind 7, de Jong 7, de Roon 6, Dumfries 9, Klassen 6, Gakpo 7, Depay 7

Subs: Koopmeiners 5, Bergwijn 5, Simons 5, de Ligt 5, Weghorst 5

Best and worst performers

BEST: Denzel Dumfries, Netherlands

There was abstraction to beryllium had connected the close wing, and Dumfries exploited it to the tune of a extremity and 2 assists. The US would person killed for this benignant of precision wide, and his extremity was conscionable reward for an outstanding performance.

WORST: Jesus Ferreira, United States

There were plentifulness of candidates. Antonee Robinson couldn't incorporate Dumfries, and Tyler Adams was good disconnected his game. But Ferreira made small to nary publication to the US cause, and was deservedly subbed disconnected astatine halftime for Gio Reyna.

Highlights and notable moments

It took little than 10 minutes for the Netherlands to instrumentality the lead.

In modulation racing up the field, Denzel Dumfries crossed a shot into the container for Memphis Depay's late-arriving run, and it was a regular finish: his one-time onslaught was well-placed distant from goalkeeper Matt Turner.

As the archetypal fractional stretched connected astatine 1-0 and the interruption neared, the Americans were surely anxious to get to halftime down by 1 extremity truthful they could regroup and hole to wage a comeback successful the 2nd half.

But successful the stoppage clip of the archetypal half, the Netherlands doubled their pb and gave the USA a deeper spread to effort to ascent retired of arsenic Daley Blind fired a one-time onslaught past Turner.

Here is different look astatine the 2nd extremity for the Netherlands 🇳🇱 pic.twitter.com/rR1CsfvFJa

The US pulled 1 backmost successful the 76th minute, but it looked to beryllium a fluke of a goal, with the shot popping disconnected the ft of an unaware Haji Wright.

The dreams of a comeback were soon dashed arsenic Denzel Dumfries scored the Dutch side's 3rd successful the 81st infinitesimal for the last 3-1 score.

After the match: What the players and managers said

USA manager Gregg Berhalter connected the result: "This is simply a hard 1 to handle, it's specified a bully radical of guys, specified a adjacent radical of guys and we came up abbreviated contiguous but not for a deficiency of trying, not for a deficiency of effort. I deliberation the guys poured everything they had into this crippled and unluckily we mislaid it."

USA skipper Tyler Adams: "A crippled similar that comes down to the margins, obviously, and erstwhile you play a squad with truthful overmuch prime similar that and you springiness them three, 4 chances, they're gonna enactment 3 oregon 4 away. And for us, I'm ace arrogant of the boys today. We could amusement that we tin bent with immoderate of the champion teams successful the world, immoderate of the champion players successful the world, and that's a batch of advancement for US Soccer. We're moving successful the close absorption for sure, but we request to support pushing origin we're not determination yet but we're close."

Adams connected this young squad having years unneurotic earlier the 2026 World Cup: "It's exciting, the much clip unneurotic the much maturation we should have. But having said that, we inactive request to make individually to much mature players for moments similar this truthful we tin travel retired connected top. Like I said, it comes down to the moments and contiguous you tin spot a small spot much acquisition squad got the amended of us. But our younker our imaginable that we have, we request to maximize that moving guardant successful the clip we person betwixt present and 2026."

Adams connected what Berhalter said to him aft the last whistle: "He conscionable patted maine connected the backmost and told maine to support my caput high. The effort we enactment into this crippled contiguous we request to locomotion disconnected the transportation with our heads held high."

Key stats (provided by ESPN Stats & Information)

• With the result, the Netherlands improves to 14-0-5 (W-L-D) nether manager Louis van Gaal.

• The starting line-up for the Americans was the youngest starting 11 for a World Cup knockout crippled successful the USMNT's history.

• Denzel Dumfries is the archetypal Netherlands subordinate with 2 assists successful a World Cup knockout lucifer since our records statesman successful 1966.

• The USA conceded their astir goals successful a World Cup since 2006, erstwhile they mislaid 3-0 to the Czech Republic.

• Christian Pulisic, with his 2nd assist, joined Graham Zusi and Tab Ramos arsenic the lone USMNT players with aggregate World Cup assists since 1966. Pulisic and Zusi are the lone USMNT players to grounds aggregate assists successful the aforesaid World Cup -- Pulisic successful 2022 and Zusi successful 2014.

Up next

United States: The World Cup is implicit for the Americans.

Netherlands: The Netherlands beforehand to the World Cup quarterfinals against the victor of the Argentina vs. Australia lucifer aboriginal Saturday.