Gody Gakpo and Frenkie De Jong struck as the Netherlands defeated hosts Qatar 2-0 to emerge Group winners and qualify for Round 16 of the tournament.
Starting Lineup
Netherlands: Andries Noppert; Jurrien Timber, Virgil van Dijk, Nathan Ake; Denzel Dumfries, Marten de Roon, Frenkie de Jong, Daley Blind; Cody Gakpo, Davy Klaassen, Memphis Depay.
Qatar: Meshaal Barsham; Pedro Miguel, Boualem Khoukhi, Abdelkarim Hassan; Ismaeel Mohammad, Hassan Al Haydos, Assim Madibo, Abdulaziz Hatem; Almoez Ali, Akram Afif.
Head to Head
The Dutch have met Asian opponents four times in FIFA World Cup tournaments and have not lost any, winning all. They were set for a fifth encounter against Qatar.
In the tournament so far, Qatar have lost all their two matches and were among the first set of teams to crash out of the competition.
The hosts recorded a 2-0 defeat against Ecuador in the World Cup opening game before losing their second game against Senegal.
Netherlands, on the other hand, won 2-0 in their opening game against Senegal before settling for a 1-1 draw against Ecuador.
The European giants needed to win to top the group while hoping Ecuador would lose to Senegal.
First Half Report
It was Netherlands dominating play as the first half kicked off.
Qatar offered little or no opposition to their opponents as they sat back to defend most of the game.
The Netherlands mounted intense pressure as they searched for an opener to cap their impressive performance.
Qatar were overwhelmed as they offered little or no opposition to the free-rolling Netherlands, who comfortably dominated possession and came across a series of chances.
In the 26th minute, Gody Gakpo opened the scoring for the Dutch as they looked set to snatch all three points from the hosts.
Despite taking the lead, the Netherlands still dominated proceedings and pushed for a second goal.
But Qatar effectively curtailed their efforts inside the box and ended up trailing them by a goal to nil after the first half.
Second Half Report
Netherlands continued to dominate play as the second half began. Just five minutes into the second, Frenkie De Jong got another to double the lead and put the game beyond Qatar.
Memphis Depay had fired on the goal from a point-blank range, and Qatar punched off the shot. De Jong jumped on the rebound to slot home Netherland’s second.
After going two goals up, the Dutch were still in control of proceedings, looking for a third goal with more chances created.
But Qatar held on and did not concede more as they settle for a third defeat to a superior and more clinical Dutch side
The game finally ended with the Netherlands grabbing a 2-0 win to finish as Group A winners qualifying for the next round of the competition.
Video Highlights
