U.S. Men’s Team Eliminated From World Cup In 3-1 Loss To Netherlands

Topline

The U.S. men’s national soccer team was eliminated from the World Cup after a thrilling 3-1 loss to The Netherlands on Saturday, ending the team’s hopes of advancing past the round of 16—as the team continues its decades-long search for its first World Cup victory.

Netherlands’ defender Denzel Dumfries celebrates scoring his team’s third goal against the U.S.

AFP via Getty Images

Key Facts

Netherlands right-back Denzel Dumfries’ goal in the 80th minute sealed the Dutch team’s victory—the U.S. team has not advanced to the quarterfinals since 2002.

The men’s team, which failed to make the last installment of the tournament in 2018, had been trailing for the majority of the match, although its offense was able to maintain possession of the ball, preventing the Dutch team from running away in a blow-out.

Haji Wright, who plays for the Turkish team Antalyaspor, cut the Netherlands’ lead in half with a goal in the 76th minute, although the Netherlands quickly pulled away with a third goal four minutes later.

The U.S. had advanced into the round of 16 after defeating Iran 1-0 on Tuesday, following a 0-0 draw with a well-favored England team and a 1-1 draw with Wales.

Tangent

USA star forward Christian Pulisic, who was injured in the U.S. men’s team’s 1-0 victory against Iran earlier this week, made his return to the team Saturday after being hospitalized for further evaluation. Pulisic was released from the hospital after sustaining an abdomen injury when he collided into Iran’s goalkeeper during the game-winning goal, heralded as one of the biggest goals in U.S. men’s soccer history. The Netherlands team, meanwhile, had been struggling with an outbreak of the flu ahead of their match with the U.S. Netherlands manager Louis van Gaal said several of the team’s 26 players had shown symptoms, although he did not specify how many had symptoms.

Big Number

$440 million. That’s how much FIFA, the World Cup governing body, will administer to the 32 teams in the tournament, including $9 million to the 16 teams that failed to advance from the group stages, $13 million to the teams that make it to the round of 16, $30 million to the runner up and $42 million to the winner. Each of the 23 members on the U.S. men’s team will receive a $10,000 stipend for each of the four games they played in Qatar, with 90% of the FIFA bonus will be distributed among the 46 members on the men’s and women’s national teams, according to a collective bargaining agreement.

Surprising Fact

Host country Qatar—in the middle of a controversy over alleged human rights abuses and the country’s restrictions of LGBTQ and women’s rights—was the first country eliminated, making World Cup history in the process.

What To Watch For

The Netherlands faces the winner of the Argentina vs. Australia match at 2 p.m. Saturday. That round-of-eight match is scheduled for Friday, Dec. 9.