Gregg Berhalter highlighted the gulf in offensive quality between the USMNT and Netherlands after his side’s 3-1 defeat on Saturday.
USMNT exited WC after 3-1 defeatDepay opened the scoring for the NetherlandsBerhalter highlighted Oranje’s clinical edge
WHAT HAPPENED? The US bowed out of the last 16 of the World Cup despite a valiant display, and Berhalter attributed the loss to the Netherlands’ clinical edge. The American head coach claimed that there was little to split the two sides, and pointed towards a particular Barcelona forward who made the difference on the day.
WHAT THEY SAID: “We don’t have a Memphis Depay right now, who’s scoring in the Champions League,” Berhalter proclaimed, despite Memphis never scoring a Champions League goal since joining Barcelona. “[The Netherlands] were clinical in their [scoring] opportunities in the first half. Other than that, there wasn’t much separating the teams.”
THE BIGGER PICTURE: The USMNT scored just three goals in four World Cup matches, with Jesus Ferreira becoming their third striker to get the nod up top against the Netherlands. He too failed to make any meaningful contributions, though, and was substituted at half time for Gio Reyna.
IN THREE PHOTOS:
DID YOU KNOW? Memphis scored his 43rd international goal for the Netherlands, making him the player with the outright second-most goals for the Oranje behind Robin van Persie (50).
WHAT NEXT FOR MEMPHIS? While Berhalter and the USMNT are heading home from Qatar, Memphis and the Netherlands progress to the quarter-finals, where the team will go on to face either Argentina or Australia.
