The USMNT falls to The Netherlands

By: Kirk Jackson

It did not go as planned for Team USA.

The United States Men’s National Team fell short to The Netherlands 3-1, who advanced to take Argentina in the next round of the World Cup. Haji Wright scored one goal for the United States, while The Netherlands received goals from Memphis Depay, Daley Blind, and Denzel Dumfries.

Also Read: USMNT Triumphs into the Round of 16 – The Scope Network

“Looking around that locker room, the silence is deafening,” said Matt Turner, goalkeeper of the USMNT.

“We all know what we put out there tonight wasn’t our best stuff. There were some great moments but front to back it wasn’t our best performance.”

Also Read: USA! USA! USA! Announcement of the USMNT Roster for the 2022 FIFA World Cup – The Scope Network

The result is an obvious disappointment for the United States, albeit it is a grand accomplishment for The USMNT to make the knockout stage of the tournament, after missing the tournament entirely in 2018.

But what will linger as a blunder to many, as there were many errors on display in this match. Some of these issues preventable and the team may regretfully reflect on these missed opportunities.

“That’s the disappointing part because we all want to create moments for people back home to fall in love with the game and tonight was not one of those nights, unfortunately,” said USMNT coach Gregg Berhalter.

“We want to inspire another generation and I think that’s the clear message within our locker room. When you have opportunities against top opponents on the world stage, you want to put your best foot forward and be able to do that.”

“We talked about the game being about moments, and I think the first half was a great indication of that,” coach Berhalter continued. “We’re on top for a lot of the first half and two moments come and all of the sudden we’re down 2-0. At halftime in the locker room, it was really even hard to explain to the group. The message was, ‘soccer can be cruel sometimes. We’ve got to keep going, get a goal, get back into this game.'”

It wasn’t meant to be, as the United States couldn’t close the gap, ultimately losing 3-1.

Next up for the Netherlands is Argentina, while the US (one of the youngest teams in the tournament) plots for a strong return moving forward.

“I think we made some progress,” United States coach Gregg Berhalter said, per The Associated Press.

“When people look at our team, they see a clear identity. They see guys that go out and fight for each other. They see the talent on the field. We made progress, but on this particular night we came up short.”