Van Gaal explains what soccer is

The preview predicted a lopsided midfield battle towards the American side. The McKennie-Tyler Adams-Musah line has been one of the sensations of the World Cup and, on the other hand, the quality of possession in the Oranje had been the subject of national debate in all three group stage games. To counter it, Van Gaal remembered other times in football and recovered the marking of the man. Klaassen did not stop smelling of Tyler Adams at any time in the first part. He canceled out the Leeds pivot and, with it, the American game. He couldn’t be the first choice for Ream and Zimmerman, and when he did receive, he rarely had time to think about the best pass. Van Gaal explained in one of his press conferences that he tries to balance his eleven between creative and obedient players. Klaassen gets into the second bag.

With this panorama, The Netherlands was waiting. Even too deep in his area. But he didn’t care because the three centrals responded. Especially Van Dijk, who is throwing to the ground all the doubts that could have about his figure after what was seen in Liverpool in recent months. They came out with the ball played on the left wing, with a Frenkie de Jong who is essential in this system, and they did damage on the right. This is how the most important occasions arrived, also those of the first two goals.

In the first, Gakpo launched the counterattack, opened to Dumfries and Memphis waited for the back pass to score. At PSV they are proud. With twenty passes, it is the most elaborate goal in the history of the Dutch team in the World Cups. For the second they repeated the formula. Klaassen, who nailed his task in the 45 minutes he played, put Dumfries ahead, who gave the pass to the penalty spot for Blind to extend the score. The Inter winger smiles every time his team is dominated with the ball, because he makes more blood getting to the area around the area than being there.

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There were scares from the United States, such as a one-on-one from Pulisic and a volley from Weah, but Noppert continues to agree with Van Gaal and is confirmed as one of the World Cup goalkeepers. The United States looked nervous and inaccurate in attack, arguing why they have managed to score just two goals in four games. To all this, Memphis had gained confidence with his goal and began to grow. He likes to put the team on his back and direct each play. Against Qatar, he already showed that he is a player of a higher level than his teammates and he really enjoys when he can be the star. He and Gakpo’s mouths watered every time they saw so many meters to run. Memphis said a couple of days ago that he would rather play with Bergwijn than with Gakpo, but yesterday’s game did not prove him right. A pass from the current PSV player, the former player demanded Turner with a shot from the front. Minutes later, the Arsenal goalkeeper saved the third with a header save from point-blank range of the 10 orange.

By now, both coaches had already made changes. At the break, Van Gaal brought on Bergwijn and Koopmeiners and withdrew Klaassen and De Roon, with a clear intention of having an extra player to launch counters and another to run them. And Berhalter asked Reyna to put on the superhero cape. These adjustments did nothing more than encourage the exchange of blows. Memphis, with its ego to the fullest, began to like itself excessively when the ball was released and gave Wright two consecutive occasions. The first wasted by himself, and in the second he found the goal.

The 2-1 made both teams tense. Gakpo kept asking for it, being in these minutes the player who leads PSV and who had not yet been seen in Qatar. But the goal of tranquility came with the protagonists of the second, but exchanging roles. Blind crossed and Dumfries rounded off his match. The Netherlands fills his self-esteem and now he begins to feel capable of playing three more games.