The U.S. men’s national team’s run at the World Cup came to a screeching halt, with the Netherlands dealing the Americans a humbling 3–1 defeat in Qatar in the round of 16.
Two first-half goals—including a dagger just before halftime by unlikely scorer Daley Blind—spelled doom for the U.S., whose attempt to come back came up short, and its time in Qatar comes to an end.
Memphis Depay opened the scoring in the 10th minute, and Blind scored in almost identical fashion, with Denzel Dumfries cutting a cross back to the center of the box, where the U.S. failed to track the runner and conceded a wide-open, first-time chance that beat Matt Turner to his right. Striker Haji Wright’s accidental first touch off a Christian Pulisic cross gave the U.S. a brief lifeline in the 76th minute, but Dumfries was left unmarked on a cross six minutes later and volleyed in the goal that ultimately put the match to bed. And therein was the difference: When presented with chances, the Dutch were ruthless, while the U.S. was a bit naive in losing track of the opponents in key spots and was unable to conjure proficiency in the final third.
