Netherlands beats Qatar 2-0 to advance at the top of Group A

The Netherlands overcame Qatar by 2-0, this Tuesday afternoon (29) at Al Bayt Stadium, in the city of Al Khor, to qualify for the round of 16 of the Qatar Cup as the first place in Group A. Already the owners of the house, who entered the lawn with no chance of advancing, said goodbye to the competition. The Netherlands secure top spot in Group A! 🔝 @adidasfootball | #FIFAWorldCup — FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) November 29, 2022 Who would have thought that the match would get off to an electric start? The hosts, whose own coach Félix Sánchez declared he is “a step behind the other teams”, had their chance in the 2nd minute with a shot from outside the area by Al Haydós, saved by goalkeeper Noppert. The Netherlands responded on the next move, but Blind ended up sending a Barsham rebound over the goal. Being able to finish Group A in first place, coach Louis Van Gaal’s team managed to score their goal in the 26th minute, in an individual play by Cody Gakpo. The PSV (Netherlands) striker went through the Qatari defense as he wished and shot in the corner, forwarding the place in the round of 16. 🇳🇱 players that have scored in three consecutive #FIFAWorldCup games:🔸Johan Neeskens (1974)🔸Dennis Bergkamp (1994)🔸Wesley Sneijder (2010)🔸Cody Gakpo (2022)Amongst 𝐄𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐞 Company 🍊 pic.twitter.com/SDogw5ITpW — FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) November 29, 2022 Gakpo had another opportunity in the 40th minute when he dominated and spun inside the box, shooting over Barsham’s goal. The 23-year-old, the team’s top scorer with 3 goals in this Cup, seemed to be Holland’s only offensive weapon until then. But that was it. In a 1st half of little inspiration, the minimum score was the maximum that the Dutch managed to do, enough, however, for the classification. Qatar, without any pretensions, was satisfied with having hosted the event. The failings of the Qatari defense were truly vexing. Just at 3 minutes of the 2nd half, in a cross to the area, the defender cut with his head back, Memphis Depay kicked, goalkeeper Barsham hit back and Frenkie De Jong, midfielder from Barcelona (Spain), completed for the nets, increasing to 2 to 0. At 22 minutes it was even cowardice. A through pass found the Qatari defense on the line, lost, and Berghuis found the net, but the goal was disallowed as Gakpo put his arm on the ball early in the game. The VAR (video referee) did justice. 🍊 @OnsOranje in cruise control!#FIFAWorldCup | #Qatar2022 pic.twitter.com/xXdIWZFEjR — FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) November 29, 2022 After that, the match rotation slowed down a lot. The two teams were just waiting for time to pass, frustrating the audience of 66,784 people. The Gambia referee still added six minutes of added time, when Berghuis had one last chance, kicking from outside the area and hitting the crossbar for Qatar. Eliminated in the first phase, Qatar could return to a World Cup in 2026, as Fifa increased the number of direct places in the Asian Qualifiers to eight teams. In a country of just three million inhabitants, with little more than 10 percent natives, the strategy must again be the naturalization of foreigners to form the selection. As expected, the Netherlands, with 7 points, was the leader of Group A, and will return to the field on Saturday (3) from 12:00h (Brasília time) to measure forces with the second placed of Group B (still to be defined).


Agência Brasil