The United States are headed home.
After giving the Netherlands 90 minutes of pure fight, the U.S. fell 3-1 to the Oranje in their round of 16 matchup and have been eliminated from the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
The starting formations for both sides did not change from their three group stage games. For the Netherlands, Louis van Gaal stuck to his 5-2-1-2 shape with five defenders, two center midfielders, one attacking midfielder and two strikers. Virgil van Dijk captained the squad.
For the U.S., Gregg Berhalter kept the 4-3-3 shape intact but made two notable personnel changes. Walker Zimmerman came back into the lineup for Cameron Carter-Vickers, who had made his World Cup debut against Iran, and JesĂşs Ferreira got the nod at the No. 9 spot with Josh Sargent out due to a knee injury.
The USMNT almost got off to an incredible start in the third minute when Christian Pulisic found himself alone in the box on a one-on-one situation with Andries Noppert, but his shot went off the goalkeeper's shin. There was a concern that Pulisic was offside, but Daley Blind, the Dutch left wingback, had kept him on.
Possession favored the U.S. throughout the early stages as the Dutch stayed comfortable sitting back and allowed the Stars and Stripes to control the ball, but the United States couldn't create any meaningful opportunities with it and got hit on the counter attack.
In the 10th minute, Dutch right wingback Denzel Dumfries got up the pitch and delivered a dangerous cut-back low cross that found a wide open Memphis Depay to make it 1-0 on their first shot of the game.
Regarding game management, that was not the way the U.S. hoped to start. Conceding an early goal gave the Dutch even more leeway to relax in their five-man low block defensively and slow down the game with their passing when they had possession.
The next best chance for the U.S. came when Tim Weah struck the ball from outside the box that forced Noppert into action, but he kept it out and started the counter for the Oranje. In added time just before the end of the first half, Dumfries supplied yet another threatening cut-back low cross that found Blind for a finish with his weak foot.
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To start the second, Gio Reyna came off the bench to replace Ferreira, who did not have the desired impact against the Dutch backline.
Things got off to a hectic start when Tim Ream nearly got the U.S. on the board off a corner kick, but Cody Gakpo cleared it off the line that led to chaos the other way when Zimmerman nearly scored an own goal if not for Matt Turner's quick reaction to keep it out.
In the 75th minute, Turner was forced into action again when he came up with a pivotal double save to prevent the scoreboard from being 3-0. That turned out to be key, as Haji Wright, who subbed into the game in the 67th minute, got the U.S. on the board in the 76th.
However, the USMNT couldn't grab the equalizer before the Dutch scored another just five minutes later. This time it was Blind that delivered a high out-swinging cross into the box from the left flank that found an unmarked Dumfries on the opposite side, who finished first time with his weak foot.
No goals happened after, and now the Netherlands will move on to the quarterfinals to face either Argentina or Australia.
