Everyone wanted to be in group A when the draw of the Qatar 2022 World Cup took place because of how weak the hosts could be. That had the Netherlands as one of those lucky teams, and they took advantage of it. Although it wasn’t easy for them to be in the round of 16.
The Dutch struggled quite a bit in the first round. For example, in their opener they couldn’t play better than a Sadio Mane-less Senegal. But when their individual talent appeared with a Frenkie de Jong assist to Cody Gakpo in the 86th minute of a game that ultimately ended 2-0.
They barely tied 1-1 with Ecuador on Matchday 2 in a score that left them at the top. In the end, they only needed to beat Qatar to secure the qualification. The Netherlands took the first place in the standings thanks to their 2-0 win.
Who could the Netherlands face in the round of 16?
In the World Cup there isn’t an additional draw after the groups like it happens in the Champions League. Every squad already knows their potential route from the beginning. That is why it was set that the winner of group A was going to play against the second of group B, and vice versa.
That other group has England, Iran, the USA, and Wales. For how things are there, anyone could be their opponents. The English lead with four points, followed by the Iranians with three, the Americans with two, and the Welsh with one. It’s so even that any of those sides could be their rival in the round of 16.
On Matchday 3 the games for them to watch later today are England vs Wales and Iran vs the USA. Those results will determine who they will be playing against on Saturday, December 3. But what can’t change is that the squad in the second place of group B will be the next challenge for the Dutch.
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