Netherlands' Frenkie de Jong celebrates scoring their second goal with teammate Virgil van Dijk during the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Group A match against Qatar at the Al Bayt Stadium in Al Khor on November 29, 2022. REUTERS/Albert Gea
Qatar’s World Cup journey ended with a 2-0 defeat to the Netherlands, who topped Group A after an unbeaten run yesterday.
Despite the hosts having no chance of qualifying for the last 16 in their last game, home fans filled the magnificent Al Bayt Stadium to back the national side with official attendance showing 66, 784 spectators in the stands.
But the Felix Sanchez’s side showed no significant improvement in their last game after defeats to Ecuador and Senegal albeit they had some good spells with the ball against the three-time finalists.
With their third straight loss, Qatar became the first World Cup hosts to exit the tournament without earning a single point.
Coach Felix Sanchez said Al Annabi didn’t set any target on their World Cup debut.
“We never thought at any time to set a target of reaching the last 16 or the quarter-finals,” he said.
“We just wanted to come here and see what we could do. We managed to play two good games against Senegal and the Netherlands. The first game against Ecuador we weren’t at our usual level and we know that.”
“You can use statistics how you want but we need to make our own assessments,” he added.
“Today, we played a difficult match against a team that is definitely a favourite to go far.”
Qatar players applaud fans after the match. PIC: Rajan Vadakkemuriyil
The Netherlands were not impressive by their standards but Cody Gakpo’s opener in the 26th minute and Frenkie de Jong’s goal in the 49th minute proved enough for Louis van Gaal’s side to seal a victory.
“We got into the next phase - the most important part of the tournament - with positivity. We did what we needed to do. We are the group winner,” the Dutch coach said after the match.
Netherlands, who defeated Senegal 2-0 and played a 1-1 draw against Ecuador, ended the first stage with seven points and they will meet the USA, who finished runners-up in Group B, in the last 16 stage.
Senegal, who edged Ecuador 2-1 in their last group match yesterday, will meet England after the Gareth Southgate's side topped Group B.
While Sanchez was continuously giving instructions to his players from the edge of technical area, Louis van Gaal remained seated in the dug-out seeing his players take control of the match.
Qatar showed some positive display and had good runs to excite their supporters but they didn’t pose much threat to the Dutch defense.
Sanchez’s side took two shots on target through Hassan Al Haydos and Abdelaziz Hatem in the first half but both were fired straight at Dutch goalkeeper Andries Noppert.
The Netherlands kept pressing for a goal at regular intervals taking three shots on target from at least ten of their attempts in the opening session.
As Qatar defence was scrambling, the Netherlands came close to scoring in the 14th minute but De Jong’s hit from the edge was unintentionally blocked by Davy Klaassen and Memphis Depay after getting the ball hit over the bar.
Qatar won back-to-back corners but both were cleared by the Dutch, who went ahead with Gakpo putting the ball in after an assist from Klaassen.
The PSV player, who also scored against Senegal and Ecuador, became only the fourth Dutch to score in three consecutive World Cup games after Johan Neeskens (1974), Dennis Bergkamp (1994) and Wesley Sneijder (2010).
Qatar had created some good chances towards the end of the first half but they were not threatening after reaching close to goal.
De Jong, meanwhile, doubled the lead for the Netherlands soon after the half-time as he just needed a touch from a loose ball after Depay header was blocked brilliantly.
Van Gaal’s men thought they have extended their lead in the 67th minute but Steven Berghuis’s goal was ruled out after VAR confirmed Gakpo’s hand ball in the build-up.
Qatar made several attempts for a consolation goal and substitute Mohammed Muntari – the only goal scorer for Qatar at the World Cup with a goal against Senegal – was pushed away by Noppert following a cross as Van Gaal pondered his team’s opponents in the last 16.
Sanchez thanked Qatar supporters for supporting the national side.
“I would like to thank the fans for their support and for coming in large numbers to enjoy a match against an elite opponent despite the elimination,” he said.
