The Netherlands and Qatar faced off in the last Group A match of the FIFA World Cup 2022 at the Al Bayt Stadium. The hosts’ FIFA 2022 campaign came to an end without a single victory in the competition as the Netherlands defeated them easily, 2-0. The victory also advanced the Dutch team to the round of 16 and put them at the top of Group A with 7 points.
The Netherlands won the game convincingly 2-0 thanks to goals from Cody Gakpo and Frenkie De Jong. The 4th minute of the first and second halves, respectively, was the interesting moment when both goals were scored. With this, Qatar has now given up seven goals in the FIFA 2022 group stage.
Cody Gakpo has had an outstanding run in this tournament, scoring three goals in as many games, the first of which came midway through the first half. In the 26th minute, he scored again for his team with a perfectly placed right-footed drive from just inside the area to give his team the lead. The Netherlands continued to dominate the remainder of the first half, controlling much of the possession of the ball and making numerous attempts to score. Qatar trailed the Netherlands 1-0 at the end of the first half.
In the Qatari box, there was some high-intensity action just four minutes into the second half (49 minutes), as Davy Klaassen sent in a cross that found the head of a Qatar defender and found Memphis Depay at the far post, who attempted to push the ball into the nets from close range but was denied by the goalkeeper. Frenkie De Jong, a teammate, then received the ball and advanced it into an empty net from a short distance, giving his team a 2-0 advantage over the hosts.
As soon as substitute Steven Berghuis entered the field, he shot the ball from close range into the Qatar goal, seemingly giving the Netherlands their third goal of the game. Unfortunately, the goal was disallowed after a VAR review determined that Gakpo’s handball during the fight and build-up inside the box caused the goal to go in.
Due to their poor performance, Qatar became the first host nation to leave the competition after three group-stage losses, placing last and receiving 0 points. Additionally, they have allowed seven goals during this competition. That number represents the most goals given up by a host nation during a World Cup group stage.
Ismaeel Mohammad attempted to launch a shot from outside the box towards the Dutch shortly following Gakpo’s goal in the first half, but the shot was too straight and fell into goalkeeper Andries Noppert’s hands. This was the closest Qatar got to scoring in the game.
The Netherlands now comfortably lead Group A after the game’s completion, and as group winners, they advance to the round of 16, where they will play the group’s runner-up. Senegal, which defeated Ecuador 2-1 in the other Group A match, moved up to second place behind Netherlands to join them in the top 16.
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