Cody Gakpo continued his prolific run with a third goal in as many games and Frenkie de Jong also scored as the Netherlands beat Qatar 2-0 on Tuesday to finish top of World Cup Group A.
Gakpo’s powerful 26th-minute strike came after passes from Memphis Depay and Davy Klaassen, and De Jong was quickest to react in the 50th minute when Depay’s shot from point-blank range was well saved by Qatar goalkeeper Meshaal Barsham at the Al Bayt Stadium.
The Qataris had been eliminated after their 3-1 loss to Senegal and despite huge investment in state-of-the-art facilities to host the World Cup, they came up short again on the pitch.
They were not without their moments in a dull first half, forcing a couple of corners and threatening on the edge of the Dutch area, but no sooner had they bared their teeth than they were hit with a gut-punch of a goal by Gakpo.
Klaassen played an inviting ball into the path of the 23-year-old and he received it at pace, slicing through the heart of the defence before dispatching a well-placed shot past Barsham to open the scoring in the 26th minute.
Four minutes into the second half, the Dutch struck again as a cross from Klaassen made its way to Depay and the Qatari defence was caught ball-watching as his shot was saved, allowing Frenkie de Jong to bundle it into the net.
With Qatar lacking the quality to mount a comeback, the Dutch had a goal ruled out after Gakpo was judged to have handled the ball in the build-up, but they still coasted to victory.
Gakpo has become the first man in this edition of the World Cup to score in three consecutive games. The 23-year-old also became the first player in the Netherlands’ history to score in their first three games of a World Cup tournament.
The PSV Eindhoven striker joins Johan Neeskens (1974), Dennis Bergkamp (1994) and Wesley Sneijder (2010) as the Dutchmen to have scored in three consecutive World Cup matches.
Ban on Cameroon goalie
Doha: Cameroon’s firstchoice goalkeeper Andre Onana has been suspended for disciplinary reasons, the country’s federation (FECAFOOT) said, after he was left out of the squad for their 3-3 draw with Serbia at the World Cup on Monday.
Onana was marked as “absent” on the team sheet, with head coach Rigobert Song saying he had to “put the team first ahead of an individual” amid reports of a falling-out over tactics.
“The Cameroon Football Federation hereby informs the public that following Mr. Rigobert Song Bahanag’s decision the player Andre Onana has been temporarily suspended for disciplinary reasons,” the statement said. Onana said on Monday he “always behaved in a way to lead the team to success in a good manner”.
Reuters
