AL RAYYAN, Qatar — After riding a stout, organized defense to advance to the knockout stage of the World Cup, the United States men’s national team failed to bring the same sharpness to the round of 16 in a 3-1 loss to the Netherlands.
The US conceded just one goal, and none from open play, as it finished second in Group B behind England. But in Saturday’s first knockout game, each goal came at a crucial moment where it seemed like the US was building momentum and having the better of the play.
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“In the past three games, I’d say we defended the moments really, really well,” US captain Tyler Adams said. “And today the three goals come from moments where we’re probably sleeping a little bit.”
The US starting lineup was the second youngest at the 2022 World Cup (25 years, 86 days) second only to the US XI that began the last match against Iran (24 years, 321 days).
And, while that means there is plenty of room for encouragement looking ahead to the 2026 World Cup, which will be hosted by the United States along with Canada and Mexico, Adams suggested it may have cost the team on this night.
“It’s exciting, the more time together the more growth we should have,” he told FOX.
“But having said that we still need to develop individually to more mature players for moments like this so we can come out on top. Like I said it comes down to the moments and today you can see a little bit more experienced team got the better of us.”
