World Cup 2022: USA comes up short against Netherlands, crashes out in Round of 16
Yahoo Sports Nick Bromberg takes you through the Netherlands's 3-1 win over USA in the 2022 Qatar World Cup Round of 16. Haji Wright’s 76th minute goal proved to be too little too late as the USA crashed out of the World Cup. Bromberg gives him takeaways for the USA as they move on from 2022 and focus on the 2026 North America World Cup.
Video Transcript
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NICK BROMBERG: The United States is out of the World Cup in the Round of 16 again, thanks to a phenomenal performance by the Netherlands Denzel Dumfries. The Netherlands beat the US 3 to 1 on Saturday morning, thanks to two first half goals created by Dumfries. He then got the game-clinching goal in the 81st minute when he was left wide open in the penalty box as the US was chasing the game. Dumfries bombed down the right side of the field and played perfect crosses to the top of the box for a 2-0 Netherlands lead at half time. The Netherlands clearly saw something it could exploit by pushing high up the field and then paying the ball back into open space on the counter after letting the US control possession.
The US had some great chances over the course of the game and failed to capitalize on them, yet the lone goal came off a seemingly awkward touch by second half sub Haji Wright as the ball popped up into the air and unpredictably bounced into the goal. That goal cut the Netherlands lead to 2 to 1 with about 15 minutes left, but Dumfries clinched the game less than 10 minutes later.
The story of the World Cup for the US-- it will be its inability to capitalize on potential scoring opportunities. The US struggled on set pieces all tournament and was simply lacking for quality more often than not when it got the ball into dangerous spots. The US seems to have everything in place but a reliable striker up front. Finding a player or two who can develop into a consistent threat in front of goal is by far the biggest objective ahead of the 2026 World Cup in North America.
