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Round of 16 Matches

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Drico said:
I have to say, this is a very functional and largely joyless Dutch side. Sure, they may have enough to smother the Americans here, but it wouldn't amaze me if they were to pay the price for sitting back and settling for closing the door on the Americans instead of getting a second.
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Functional and joyless tends to get teams far in tournaments
 
Drico said:
All pretty tedious. Having underdogs get through to the last 16 is all very exciting in the group stage, but it leads to some fairly inevitable knockout games. Not that the Americans were not fancied to qualify out of that fairly weak group, but this has been way too easy for a very well-drilled but utterly functional Dutch side lacking flair.
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It's only going to get worse, imagine the high stakes pressure lining up against 'Nevis and St Kitts'...
 

Drico said:
I wish I was.

I actually thought the Americans could do them on penalties - but even getting to penalties would seem a pipe dream now. I suppose I shouldn't complain too much. If we want heavyweight clashes, you need your heavyweights winning these games to set up big last eight confrontations. This second round of matches strikes me as being a wheat and chaff round where almost all of the expected winners will progress. There is no great intrigue. It may be the price we pay for a superb end to the tournament. Not that the Dutch appear to be all that good, to be quite honest.
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I was thinking / hoping for extra time, maybe pens.

Wait until 2026, with more teams and bigger differences from top to bottom in terms of teams. At least the US has already qualified....
 
Billy Dean said:
Functional and joyless tends to get teams far in tournaments
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Indeed. But this Dutch side is deeply ordinary. The 2010 team was criticised for being cynical, but they had Sneijder, Robben, and van Persie. They had personality (and even van Bommel and De Jong were cartoon villains in the middle). This lot have no personality at all. Grim.
 
Netherlands just sitting back and saying to USA ‘let’s see if you got the quality to score’ then rogering them on the break.

USA really need some quality up front they getting in good positions but the wrong pass or poor quality is letting them down
 

I guess have pulisic and weah really pinching in (pulisic looked like he was struggling at the half so who knows how long he'll last). Have Robinson, Reyna, and dest supply the crosses + pray that Holland doesn't murder you on the flanks on counters.
 
And by the way, have the Dutch embraced this kind of pragmatism now? I mean, they were famous for glorious (flawed) football. If they go all functional, they'll always be a poor man's Germany. Or at least, a poor man's West Germany.
 
Pittsburgh Footy said:
Two nil very harsh

If puli slots totally different game.
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Having possession doesn’t mean you’re a decent team. It’s been awful to watch when USA get into that final 3rd.

The tactics Holland are playing is next level management. Van Gaal is showing Gregg there is levels to this.

Holland have waited and at the right times they’ve ripped USA apart and fully deserve their 2-0 lead.
 

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