Qatar 2022: same observation as for Canada in the United States

UPDATE DAY

The United States went a game further than Canada, but the situation after their elimination at the hands of the Netherlands is somewhat the same.

“We wanted to show the rest of the world that we could play soccer and I think we have partially succeeded,” said coach Gregg Berhalter first.

“This group is close”

Looking to 2026, Berhalter more or less summed up what Canadians said a few days ago.

>

“You have to ask yourself if you can win against the best teams and if you can perform well against the best teams. I think this group is close, Americans should be optimistic.

Denzel Dumfries of the Netherlands agreed with him.

“It is a young and energetic team that is destined for a bright future. I believe this team can be part of the elite.

More quality

This elimination essentially comes down to a surplus of quality in the Dutch camp.

“It is hard for us to swallow, the guys gave their all in this game, but we came up short,” admitted Berhalter.

“Holland have an offensive finishing quality that we lack,” he admitted. It's normal, we are a young team, we don't have players who are at the peak of their career, we don't have Memphis Depay.

He summed up what all the observers were saying before this meeting: this team does not have a leading striker who can change the game.

Berhalter believes that his team had a good first half, but he failed to concede that the Dutch had left the ball to them.

“We had the ball for the majority of the first half, but in two moments they scored and we were down two goals. »

A very good chance

The picture could have been different if Christian Pulisic had put the ball in the back of the goal on a very good chance obtained in the first minutes of the game.

“I was excited by the fact that we had a good chance to score and we can't finish them all. It's all in how you react afterwards. »

Adjustment

At the same time, he reminded that his team was not playing against celery stalks.

“You have to give credit to Holland who knew how to create these chances and finish them. “

The Dutch set a trap in the United States and they fell right into it, argued coach Louis van Gaal.

“The Americans did not adjust, we had planned our tactics to attack their flanks, which enabled us to win.

Methodical

The Netherlands were very methodical in this victory and on the day of the match, Denzel Dumfries argues that the goals prove efficiency of such a well-honed game system.

“In this first goal, you see all the facets of what we are working on in training, from ball movements to permutations.

“These goals were really fantastic and I'm incredibly proud,” Van Gaal said of the three goals, which all looked like family.