The first match of the second half of FIFA World Cup 2022 saw the 2010 runners-up Netherlands take on hosts Qatar at the Al Bayt Stadium. The match ended with the Netherlands clinching a comfortable 2-0 victory over the hosts, whose FIFA 2022 journey has ended without a single victory in the tournament. The win also took the Dutch side to the top of the Group A table with 7 points and pushed them through to the round of 16.
Two goals from leads Cody Gakpo and Frenkie De Jong saw the Netherlands seal a convincing 2-0 win in the match. Interestingly, both the goals came in the 4th minute of the first and second halves respectively. With this, Qatar has conceded seven goals in the group stage of FIFA 2022.
Cody Gakpo has had a fantastic run in this tournament as he scored his third goal of the tournament, opening midway through the first half, striking again for his team in the 26th minute with a perfect right-footed drive from just inside the area to give his team the lead. The first half went on from there and it was Netherlands maintaining dominance with majority of the ball possession and multiple attempts at scoring. The first half ended with Netherlands leading Qatar 1-0
Just 4 minutes into the second half (49 minutes), there was some high-octane action in the Qatar box as Davy Klaassen sent in a cross that found a Qatar defender’s head and found Memphis Depay at the far post, who tried to push the ball into the nets from close range, but was saved. He ball then reached his teammate Frenkie De Jong, who eased it into an empty nets from just a few yards, taking his team 2-0 up against the hosts.
69 minutes into the match, Netherlands seemed to have scored their third goal of the match as substitute Steven Berghuis struck the ball into the Qatar goal from close range minutes after walking onto the field. However, the goal was unfortunately ruled out after a VAR check revealed that the goal went into the nets as handball by Gakpo amidst all the tussle and build-up inside the box.
Qatar’s dismal showing means they became the first host nation to exit the tournament with three group-stage losses, finishing bottom with no points. They have also conceded seven goals in this tournament. That’s the most conceded by a host nation in the group stages of any World Cup.
The closest Qatar came to scoring in the match was immediately after Gakpo’s goal in the first half, when Ismaeel Mohammad looked to send a shot rocketing from outside the area into the Dutch, but the shot was too straight as it went right into the hands of goalkeeper Andries Noppert.
So, the conclusion of the match means that the Netherlands now sit comfortably on top of the Group A table and head into the last 16 as group winners, where they will face the runner-up in Group B. Senegal, who beat Ecuador 2-1 in the simultaneous Group A match take the second spot behind Netherlands to qualify for the top 16 as well.
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