USMNT hurt by missed chances, experience gap

AL RAYYAN, Qatar -- After riding a stout, organized defence to beforehand to the knockout signifier of the World Cup, the United States men's nationalist squad failed to bring the aforesaid sharpness to the circular of 16 successful a 3-1 nonaccomplishment to the Netherlands.

The US conceded conscionable 1 goal, and nary from unfastened play, arsenic they finished 2nd successful Group B down England. But successful Saturday's archetypal knockout game, each extremity came astatine a important infinitesimal erstwhile it seemed similar the US were gathering momentum and having the amended of the play.

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"In the past 3 games, I'd accidental we defended the moments really, truly well," US skipper Tyler Adams said. "And contiguous the 3 goals travel from moments wherever we're astir apt sleeping a small bit."

The US starting lineup was the 2nd youngest astatine the 2022 World Cup (25 years, 86 days) 2nd lone to the US XI that began the erstwhile lucifer against Iran (24 years, 321 days).

And, portion that means determination is plentifulness of country for encouragement looking up to the 2026 World Cup, which volition beryllium hosted by the United States on with Canada and Mexico, Adams suggested it whitethorn person outgo the squad connected this night.

"It's exciting, the much clip unneurotic the much maturation we should have," helium told Fox.

"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 experienced squad got the amended of us."

For the game's archetypal 9 minutes, the US had the bulk of the possession and created possibly the game's champion scoring accidental successful the 3rd infinitesimal erstwhile Christian Pulisic was denied from adjacent scope by goalkeeper Andries Noppert.

"It hurts, man. It hurts," Pulisic said of the miss. "I thought I was mode offside erstwhile it happened, but I inactive deed it and helium made a bully save. It's going to wounded for a while."

While that deficiency of cutting borderline plagued the US passim qualifying and successful the archetypal 3 games, the Netherlands showed what objective finishing looks like.

It took until the 10th infinitesimal for the Dutch to marque a existent propulsion into the Americans' antiaircraft third, but they did truthful connected a beauteous passing series that saw Denzel Dumfries chopped backmost a walk to the late-arriving Memphis Depay -- who near down Adams and was escaped successful the container -- for the opening goal.

"Their archetypal onslaught was fundamentally a extremity and however agelong did it instrumentality them to make an attack? We were intelligibly connected top, intelligibly dominant," US manager Gregg Berhalter said.

"We had a bully moment, goal-scoring accidental earlier that we didn't score. It's conscionable moments that a player's disconnected a small spot present oregon determination and it ends up successful the backmost of the net. And erstwhile you play astatine this level, erstwhile you play this precocious quality, that's what happens."

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The extremity mightiness person seemed similar it came against the tally of play, but it was precisely the benignant of infinitesimal Netherlands manager Louis van Gaal hoped to acceptable up by sitting heavy for astir of the game.

Netherlands center-back Virgil van Dijk said they knew the US midfield was the spot of the squad and purposely didn't use overmuch unit to the US backline successful bid to marque things much hard for the US midfield of Yunus Musah, Weston McKennie and Adams.

The US had immoderate agleam moments of possession -- peculiarly from Tim Weah and Sergino Dest -- but they failed to make overmuch done the center, wherever Jesus Ferreira started astatine striker.

Ferreira said helium was instructed to driblet deeper than the US strikers -- Josh Sargent (unavailable due to the fact that of an ankle injury) and Haji Wright -- did successful their archetypal 3 games to effort to unfastened abstraction behind, but the program didn't enactment and Gio Reyna was subbed connected astatine the fractional successful his place.

Seconds earlier halftime, the Dutch scored disconnected a throw-in connected an akin series to the first. Dumfries, again, chopped backmost a walk into the container and skipper Daley Blind calmly finished.

The US got a chaotic, fluky extremity backmost done Wright successful the 71st minute, to which the Dutch besides rapidly answered successful systemic fashion.