Previewing USA-Netherlands Round Of 16 Matchup
The USA will take the pitch at 10am EST Saturday morning for their match in the World Cup Round of 16; don’t let the importance and difficulty of that be lost on you. It’s a huge moment for soccer on the world stage, and it’s one that a couple of absolute powerhouses do not have the pleasure of enjoying. As the USMNT complete their final preparations ahead of a showdown with The Netherlands, Belgium (World #2), Denmark (World #10), and Germany (World #11) are all already headed home from Qatar, being ousted in the group stage. It may not feel like the US has accomplished much with only 2 World Cup goals in 3 matches, but the Round of 16 is not a guarantee for any nation, even the cream of the crop. Naturally, though, the road will only get tougher from here for the Stars And Stripes. The Netherlands are a really talented side, but good news for the USA: they’re not playing at that level right now.
The USMNT made their way to the knockout stages by way of draws with England and Wales and a final victory over a pesky Iran squad. The England and Iran results are quality, and the Wales game was at least not a loss, though US deserved to win by their play. Meanwhile, The Netherlands worked their way through Group A with wins over Senegal and Qatar (both 2-0 victories), and a 1-1 draw with Ecuador, who was the far inferior side. Senegal is an interesting team, but 2-0 over Qatar is underwhelming considering the host nation was the first eliminated, and equaling Ecuador, who is currently 44th in the World Football Rankings, is troubling. In what looked to be a weak group, the 7 point, +4 goal differential performance for The Netherlands has raised concerns among their supporters. This team is not firing on all cylinders, and the USA aren’t pushovers. They can absolutely win this game.
Well, how would they do it? I’m glad you asked, oh patriotic reader. Well, as rough as the Dutch have seemed the past couple of matches, they’re unbeaten in their last 18 games. They’re a dominating possession team, which is different than the counter-attacks Wales and Iran and to a lesser extent, England, used against the US in the group stages. The USMNT love to possess the ball, but they might have to get comfortable with the idea of being a defense-first side against the Oranje. Virgil Van Dijk is a top class defender for The Netherlands, Frenkie de Jong is an outstanding midfielder, and Cody Gakpo is a stupendous young scoring threat who has already netted 3 goals this tournament. They’re too talented to hold the ball against, but they might be too talented to sit back and defend against. The only way out for the USMNT is to take aggressive chances at counter attacks and hope they can take advantage of a choice few opportunities. If they do though, and Tim Weah or Christian Pulisic or Brenden Aaronson find the back of the net, it will be a momentous occasion for US Soccer. Buckle up, America. It’s about to be one heck of a Saturday morning.
