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AL RAYYAN, Qatar – Just like its World Cup appearances in 2010 and 2014, the United States' run in Qatar 2022 ended after just one knockout game.
This time, the end came against the Netherlands, which rode a pair of first-half goals to a 3-1 victory in Saturday's round of 16 match at Khalifa International Stadium.
Memphis Depay and Daley Blind scored early, and Denzel Dumfries added one late for the Dutch. Haji Wright briefly pulled the Americans within one shortly before Dumfries' back-breaking strike, but that was as close as they got.
The Netherlands will take on either Argentina or Australia — who meet later on Saturday — next Friday in the first quarterfinal match.
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Here are three quick thoughts on the match:
1. U.S. gets a reality check
Players of the Netherlands celebrate their side's second goal by Daley Blind during the World Cup round of 16 soccer match between the Netherlands and the United States, at the Khalifa International Stadium in Doha, Qatar, Saturday, Dec. 3, 2022. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)
The U.S. came into the contest against the Oranje with high hopes of reaching the last eight at a World Cup for the first time in 20 years.
But despite having the better of the play and almost all of the ball in the opening nine minutes, they couldn't take advantage. (More on that below.)
A golden scoring chance fell to U.S. star Christian Pulisic less than three minutes in, when after a broken play he found himself all alone in the Dutch penalty box with just keeper Andries Noppert to beat.
Pulisic seemed almost surprised by the opportunity; he was kept onside on the play by Blind, the Netherlands captain. Pulisic fired a strong shot on target. But it was too close to the gigantic backstop (at 6-foot-8, Noppert is the tallest player in the tournament), who was able to kick it away.
The squandered opportunity was a bad omen.
In the knockout round of the World Cup, against an elite opponent, those missed chances tend to come back to haunt you.
Indeed, the Americans were punished basically the first time they lost possession.
Just minutes later, Matt Turner was picking the ball out of his own net, an unmarked Depay clinically finishing off a cutback pass from Dumfries.
Before and after the opening goal, Dutch coach Louis van Gaal was happy to cede the ball to the Americans and dare them to beat them with it. The U.S. couldn't do it.
A 43rd-minute shot by Tim Weah was beaten away by Noppert. A mazy run by Sergiño Dest ended with a weak effort on goal.
Then, predictably, the second Oranje goal arrived in first-half stoppage time. Jesus Ferreira was dispossessed deep in his own end, and Blind beat Dest to the ensuing cross. It was all but game — and World Cup — over right then.
The U.S. put in a valiant effort and threatened a few times in the second half before Wright found the net. The hope didn't last long.
Gregg Berhalter's side was pretty much already beaten, thoroughly outclassed by a superior foe.
2. Sloppiness costs the Americans
Christian Pulisic of the United States reacts during the World Cup round of 16 soccer match between the Netherlands and the United States, at the Khalifa International Stadium in Doha, Qatar, Saturday, Dec. 3, 2022. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
Van Gaal's game plan worked to perfection, but that's not why the U.S. lost this match.
As they had been throughout the group stage, the Americans were their own worst enemy in the attack. The difference this time was that a defense that hadn't conceded from the run of play over the course of three first-round games wasn't able to bail them out.
The U.S. was maddingly sloppy with the ball during each of their four contests in Qatar. For all their speed in closing down other teams' players defensively, their speed of play — and speed of thought — with it was sorely lacking the other way. So was their execution.
Time and again, passes were over or under hit. The U.S. didn't take advantage of the space in front of them often enough when they had it. The Americans didn't make life difficult enough for opposing defenses, and they weren't nearly incisive enough in transition moments, many of which were there for the taking.
The contrast between them and the Netherlands in this area was apparent. The Dutch pounced on turnovers immediately and put the Americans under intense pressure.
Meantime, the U.S. was just a beat too slow every single time. A missed chance by Wright in the 75th minute off a giveaway by Depay, just before Wright's goal, encapsulated this perfectly, as Wright's heavy touch was the difference between rolling the ball into an open net and having it cleared off the line.
Van Gaal gave the U.S. some rope, but they were utterly unable to take advantage.
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3. Was this World Cup a success for the USMNT?
Tim Ream of the United States, left, is challenged by Steven Bergwijn of the Netherlands during the World Cup round of 16 soccer match between the Netherlands and the United States, at the Khalifa International Stadium in Doha, Qatar, Saturday, Dec. 3, 2022. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Norooz)
On the one hand, the U.S. can celebrate getting this far and losing to a bona-fide title contender just four years after not qualifying at all.
On the other, the opportunity to capture the imagination of mainstream sports fans back home doesn't come along often. Longtime USMNT supporters have now seen this movie end in similar fashion, at this same stage, four times since 1994.
There's a lot to be optimistic about when it comes to the future of this program.
The second-youngest team in this World Cup showed how far the U.S. men have come at times, even if in the aftermath of Saturday's defeat it feels awfully like more of the same. That bitterness should wear off in the days and weeks to come.
The Americans will get another chance to go a step further when they co-host the 2026 event along with Canada and Mexico. But Saturday's loss also showed just how far they still have to go.
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