The United States men’s soccer team was eliminated from the 2022 FIFA World Cup on Saturday after losing to the Netherlands 3-1 in the Round of 16.
From the beginning of the match, the Netherlands appeared to be in the driver’s seat. Netherlands’ forward Memphis Depay put the Dutch on the scoreboard early in the game after scoring a right footed shot on a cross from right back Denzel Dumfries, to go up 1-0 in the tenth minute of action.
Another look at Memphis Depay’s early goal for the Netherlands 🇳🇱 pic.twitter.com/aDZOeiqZaV
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) December 3, 2022
Dumfries would go on to assist a second goal in the final moments of the first half, after threading the needle on a pass to the center of the box for Daley Blind to shoot into the bottom left corner of the net to go up 2-0 on the U.S.A.
The Netherlands make it two!
In the final seconds of the first half, Daley Blind makes it 2-0 🇳🇱 pic.twitter.com/pZThbgnKUK
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) December 3, 2022
Haji Wright of the U.S. would go on to score in the 76th minute to make the game somewhat competitive at 2-1, but Dumfries could not be contained.
Dumfries would put the United States’ hopes at making a comeback impossible just five minutes after Wright’s goal during the 81st minute of play with a goal of his own, putting a lid on the United States’ World Cup run. (RELATED: Fan Beats And Stabs His TV To Death After Mexico Gets Eliminated From World Cup)
The gap in talent between the U.S. and the Netherlands was evident from kickoff. The Netherlands looked like a varsity squad playing against a JV club in the U.S.A. At no point in the game did the Dutch not have complete control.
The fact that the United States even made it to the round of 16 was impressive and exceeded many expectations. Perhaps they’ll make a deeper run in the World Cup tournament one day, but for now it seems they lack the talent to compete against the top teams in the world.
It was entertaining seeing the U.S. win a game and giving them something to cheer about, but at the end of the day, it wasn’t meant to be. Hopefully the U.S. learns from this loss and it will rejuvenate them to make a deeper run when they host the tournament 2026.