World Cup round of 16: Netherlands vs. USA prediction, preview and team news

After finishing second behind England in group B, United States boss Gregg Berhalter spoke of his pride as his team reached the round of 16 at the Fifa World Cup. 

Undefeated in the opening stage, Berhalter has now urged his squad to “go battle” with the Netherlands at the Khalifa International Stadium. “The guys grinded,” Berhalter said after the 1-0 win over Iran. “They gave every single ounce of energy. We are undefeated going into the knockout round. We will move on and we will go battle Holland.”

In 2002 the US reached the World Cup quarter-finals and Berhalter feels it’s a “great opportunity” to do that again. But the US are not going into Saturday’s game “thinking it’s an honour”. Berhalter added that his team “deserve to be in the position we’re in” and “we don’t want to go home”.

If the US do reach the last eight, it would be a “slightly bigger achievement” than in 2002, said CBS Sports soccer analyst Grant Wahl. Simply, because the Dutch “are a better team” than Mexico were when the US beat them 20 years ago. 

‘Total Football’ to ‘total turnoff’?

Louis van Gaal’s Netherlands come into the round of 16 having topped group A with two wins and a draw. Despite the results, has the country that gave us “Total Football” become “a total turnoff?”, asked James Ducker in The Telegraph. Their tactics have “attracted plenty of critics”, and it is certainly “not an exaggeration” to say there has been “a lot more entertainment in observing Van Gaal off the field than his team on it”.

The Dutch media’s criticism of the team’s performances led to the head coach responding in “typical Louis style”, Ducker added. Van Gaal told his critics to go home if they were so “terribly bored”. 

While the Netherlands may not have entertained as a team, they do have one of the “breakout” stars of the World Cup in their attack, said Ben Knapton on SportsMole. Against Qatar, PSV winger Cody Gakpo became just the fourth man in Dutch history to score in three successive World Cup matches.

Gakpo has been in “sensational form” at Qatar 2022 and for his club PSV Eindhoven, said Lee Davey on talkSPORT. The 23-year-old has 12 goals and 14 assists for PSV across all competitions this season and former Manchester United midfielder Paul Scholes believes he could be a possible replacement for Cristiano Ronaldo at Old Trafford. “The lad at PSV – Gakpo is doing really well for the Netherlands at the World Cup,” Scholes told MUTV’s The Debate. “I think [United manager Erik] ten Hag has been really interested in him before.”

Cody Gakpo (No.8) scored in each group game for the Netherlands

Sarah Stier/Fifa via Getty Images

Match facts 

• Who: Netherlands vs. USA 
• What: Fifa World Cup round of 16
• When: Saturday 3 December 2022 
• Where: Khalifa International Stadium
• Kick-off time: 3pm (all times GMT)
• UK TV coverage: TBC

Team news

After playing 66 minutes on his return against Qatar, Memphis Depay should feature again for the Dutch. Right-back Jeremie Frimpong has also given Louis van Gaal an injury scare after suffering an ankle knock during training. 

Article source: https://www.theweek.co.uk/news/sport/football/958706/fifa-world-cup-round-of-16-netherlands-vs-usa-prediction-preview