🇺🇸 USA must feel pain of present elimination to feel joy of bright future
2026 will only be better if the U.S. takes action
Just before halftime of the United States’ Round of 16 match, it felt like things were shifting. The United States had conceded a costly goal in the 10th minute to Memphis Depay but had control of the ball, were dictating how things were played and had scoring chances.
And shifting they were. Just … not in the direction the game had hinted things would shift.
Denzel Dumfries (the former Aruba international) slid a pass to Daley Blind, who beat U.S. right back Sergiño Dest to the ball. Blind’s finish was a dagger to the heart of the Americans’ chances, sending the Netherlands into the half with a 2-0 lead as he fired past goalkeeper Matt Turner.
The U.S. ended the 3-1 defeat with an edge in possession, the edge in shots on target, having played a game that looked not unlike the type of contest it felt before the game that it needed to play. But the Dutch had the killer instinct. They were effective in front of goal from their first chance to their last.
An uncharacteristic lapse of concentration from Tyler Adams led to the first goal. Dest’s brief switch-off caused the second. The Dutch finally recognizing they had Dumfries in space for basically the entire half meant a third, crushing the U.S. rally before it could really get going.
Even the team that lifts the trophy on December 18 will have made many mistakes on the road to a world championship.