Al Khor: Cody Gakpo struck again as the Netherlands booked their place in the World Cup Round of 16 as group winners with a straight 2-0 win over hosts Qatar on Tuesday.
Needing just one point to make sure of progression, the Netherlands set foot in the next round within the first half hour when Gakpo scored in their third consecutive group match.
Already eliminated before kick-off, they suffered the infamy of becoming the first home team in World Cup history to finish the group stage without a point.
The Dutch team, led by Louis van Gaal, finished at the top of Group A with seven points, while Senegal joined it in the round of 16 as runners-up, after beating Ecuador 2-1.
The Orange team will face the second seeded group from Group B for a place in the quarter-finals at Khalifa International Stadium on Saturday.
England currently top this section and play Wales later on Tuesday, while the United States play Iran. The four teams continue to search for qualification.
“We did what we had to do,” said Holland coach Van Gaal.
“We are the group winners and most likely we will play the second team, most likely the United States or Iran, and they will play tonight and we can see them tonight.”
The Dutch are off to a strong start as they look to put the disappointment of failing to qualify for the 2018 World Cup in Russia behind them.
Qatar bid farewell to the long-awaited World Cup on home soil, securing their place in the record books as the worst hosts on the pitch.
Qatar coach Felix Sanchez said, “I think we played against a great team, and it was probably one of the biggest favorites to advance in this tournament.”
“It was a very difficult game for us, but I think the team managed to compete at a very high level for several minutes.”
Depay starts
Van Gaal managed to give Memphis Depay his first start in the tournament as the Barcelona star continued his return to top form after a hamstring injury.
It didn’t take long for the Dutch to break through the Qatar defence, although Daley Blind was only able to block a four-minute effort straight to goalkeeper Mishal Barshim.
The opening goal came in the 26th minute when Davy Claassen played Jackpo after some great play which also featured Depay.
The PSV winger surged forward and drilled a low shot into the bottom corner from the edge of the box for his third goal of the tournament.
The three-time world runners-up took advantage of Qatar’s weak defense to double their lead four minutes into the first half.
Barcham Depay made a point-blank save, but De Jong reacted faster than heavy Pedro Miguel to field the ball from just one yard out.
Substitute Stephen Burgess thought he had added a third midway through the second half, but had his own disallowed after the VAR checked for a handball from Jacbo.
There was brief excitement for the rest of the home crowd later on when Mohamed Muntari pushed the ball into the net, but the team whistle was long gone by a foul on Virgil van Dijk.
The Netherlands came close to inflicting more misery on Qatar in injury time when Bergwiss’s fine shot from distance hit the crossbar.
