The USA has made it to the Round of 16 in 2022’s World Cup in Qatar, but some aren’t taking them as a serious competitor.

In 2018, the USA team didn’t even qualify for the World Cup in Russia. In 2014, they were out in the Round of 16. This year, they’ve made the Round of 16 once again. So what are their chances this time around?

On Monday, Nov. 28th, USA beat Iran 1-0 with a goal from Christian Pulisic to advance themselves into the Round of 16 for the first time since 2014’s World Cup in Brazil. They placed second in Group B behind England, meaning they’ll be playing the winner of Group A– the Netherlands tomorrow morning on Dec. 3.  

On paper, the Netherlands has some scary talent; including but not limited to center-back Virgil van Dijk from Liverpool F.C., center-back Matthijs de Ligt from Juventus F.C., Midfielder Frenkie de Jong from FC Barcelona, Striker Memphis Depay from F.C. Barcelona, and Striker Cody Gakpo from PSV. But this squad hasn’t been living up to their expectations, and their group was considered to be the easiest to move on from. 

Group A consisted of Qatar, Senegal, Ecuador, and the Netherlands. In their opening game against Senegal, the Netherlands struggled to make chances throughout the match; and when they did, they proved wasteful. Aside from their goals, the Dutch created seven chances with none ending in even a shot on target. Senegal, however, created 13 chances and had 4 shots on target, but couldn’t find that finishing touch. With Gakpo’s 84th-minute header and Midfielder Davy Claassen’s empty net tap-in in the 90+9th minute, the Dutch wound up with a scrappy 2-0 win. Had Senegal’s main man and captain Sadio Mané been healthy for the World Cup, Senegal would most likely have walked away from this game with 3 points. 

Their second game against Ecuador ended in a 1-1 draw. The Netherlands had a strong start, with Gakpo once again putting the ball in the back of the net, this time in the 6th minute. But as the game progressed, the Dutch seemed cornered and were unable to create anything whatsoever. Ecuador’s main goalscorer Enner Valencia showed up once again with a 49th minute goal, forcing the Netherlands back into a tie. The game would remain 1-1, but Ecuador ended the game with a staggering 15 shots to the Netherlands’ 2. This number of shots from the Netherlands was the fewest recorded amount in a single World Cup game for a European nation since 1966, according to verified sports account OptaJohan on Twitter. Once again, the Netherlands’ opponents were unable to find the back of the net enough to push them toward a win.

The final game against host team Qatar ended 2-0, with Gakpo continuing to put one away early and de Jong starting off the second half with another. Qatar has performed poorly throughout the cup and was the first host country to ever lose all three group-stage games. The Netherlands dominated this game and had no issues besides the fact that they could’ve added one or two more goals to the tally. This game cannot be looked at for a proper measure of the Netherlands’ skill, as Qatar has proved themselves to be extremely weak this World Cup.

Overall, the Netherlands has a solid squad. With a well-rounded team, they see themselves as potential contenders for the cup. However, they have generally struggled with creating chances for themselves, which could potentially be a fatal flaw. Gakpo, however, has proven himself to be a world-class player and a potential threat to look out for, as he scored a goal in each of the 3 group-stage matches. Van Dijk has had a stellar career as a centre-back for his club Liverpool, but has shown himself to be out of form lately. More and more players have been taking him on one-on-one, an action which was rarely seen in previous seasons against him. So far, he hasn’t been the deciding factor that the Netherlands will surely need him to be against Round of 16 teams; for example, the USA. If the Netherlands want to win on Saturday, he’ll need to be on his A-game. USA will not show up to play around. 

The USA’s group, contrary to the Netherlands’ Group A, was considered to be the hardest group in the entire competition to move on from. Consisting of England, who has the most expensive squad in the cup and is ranked 5th by FIFA, Iran, who is ranked 20th, and Wales, who is ranked 19th. The USA placed second in the group with 5 points, meaning they advance to the Round of 16. 

In their opening game against Wales, they placed immediate pressure on Wales, almost forcing them into scoring an early own goal. In the 36th minute, they took a 1-0 lead with a goal from Timothy Weah. But in the second half, the USA turned it down a notch and decided to play defensively, which proved to be a mistake. Wales quickly turned the game in their favor, and flipped the pressure on the USA. Although USA held strong for the majority of the game, a slide tackle from behind in the box by Walker Zimmerman led to an 82nd minute penalty goal for Wales’ Gareth Bale. The game ended 1-1, a somewhat disappointing result for the USA. Had they kept the pressure on Wales, the game surely would have ended with a win for USA. 

In their second game against England, the USA surprised everybody. They dominated the game at multiple points, with 11 shots to England’s 5. The stalemate gave both sides one point, but it could’ve easily ended in 3 for the USA. They subdued England’s talented attack and midfield, while also breaking through their formidable defenses throughout the game. They couldn’t, however, find that finishing touch and ended game two with a single point. Due to this result, the USA was 3rd in the table behind Iran who had won against Wales 2-0. That meant they had to win their next game, or they weren’t able to qualify. 

Their final game against Iran ended with a 1-0 victory, propelling the USA into the Round of 16. USA’s “Captain America” or Christian Pulisic scored in the 38th minute to win the game for the US. Unfortunately, he picked up an injury due to a collision with the Iranian goalkeeper, so he was subbed off for the second half. But the USA held strong, refusing to make the same mistake they made against Wales by effectively keeping their pressure. Although Iran had a few solid chances, goalkeeper Matt Turner and the rest of the USA defense subdued the Iranian attack and finished off the game with a clean sheet.