Van Gaal has work

With a 2-0 win over hosts Qatar, the Netherlands qualified as Group A winners for the World Cup Round of 16 on Tuesday night. It still wasn’t sparkling, NU.nl sports journalist Rypke Bakker told Good Morning Netherlands. “Van Gaal still has work to do.”

Group victory in hand, the Orange will face in the round of 16 the United States, number two in group B. “It was a little better against Qatar than against Ecuador (1-1, editor’s note), but it wasn’t good enough to eliminate the United States for a while yet.

Bakker warns that the United States has a good crop of soccer players. “It’s qualitatively just a notch higher than the opponents we had in the group stage. There are guys playing at big clubs, like Juventus, AC Milan and Chelsea.

“What the United States mainly has is what we lack so much at Orange; dynamism and passion. They play a little less football, but she wants to compensate with that. It will be a difficult match for Orange,” says Bakker.

“It’s time for a little relaxation, then turn on”

The Dutch won 2-0 against Qatar at Al Bayt Stadium in Al Khor thanks to goals from tastemakers Cody Gakpo and Frenkie de Jong. The first opponent of the group was Senegal, also eliminated 2-0.

The match against the United States will be played on Saturday at 4 p.m. (local time). The Orange players will have a free afternoon for this game from national coach Louis van Gaal, Bakker explains. “There is time for a bit of relaxation, time to see the children and the wife. But then the switch must be turned.

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By: Peter Visser