Whatever magic the young U.S. national team captured in the first two weeks of this World Cup ran out during a 3-1 loss to the Netherlands that ended the Americans’ tournament in the round of 16. The Netherlands, meanwhile, has never lost a World Cup game of any kind under coach Louis van Gaal and hasn’t lost in the round of 16 in 16 years. It was just the second goal Turner has allowed in Qatar and the first from open play, but it wasn’t entirely his fault. In a World Cup game where the differences between teams are often razor thin, mistakes like that are difficult to overcome. The U.S. had the second-youngest team in Qatar and had just one player on its roster who had worn a uniform to a World Cup game before.

Source: Los Angeles Times December 03, 2022 20:50 UTC