Getty Image / Sidhik Keerantakath / Eyepix Group / Future Publishing
The USMNT is set to face The Netherlands in the Round of 16 of the 2022 World Cup on Saturday morning. The last time these two teams faced each other was in a 2015 friendly and the USMNT won 4-3. And the Americans will certainly be hoping to bottle some of that magic once again.
The Netherlands are heavy favorites against the USMNT and for good reason. The last time the Americans won a World Cup match against a European team was on June 5, 2002, in a 3-2 win against Portugal. That is 7,486 days and counting since the Americans have beat a European side in a World Cup for anyone keeping track at home.
Speaking with reporters on Friday, Netherlands manager Louis van Gaal revealed bad news for his team. The Dutch squad is currently battling the flu and some of the team’s biggest stars are sick with the debilitating illness that is also hammering the Brazilian squad right now.
It seems that the flu has also hit the Dutch camp (after the Brazilian one) before their World Cup round-of-16 match tomorrow. They won’t say how many players are sick, but it appears all-important playmaker Frenkie de Jong is among them. https://t.co/2mnBga77mc
— Leander “same handle *elsewhere*” Schaerlaeckens (@LeanderAlphabet) December 2, 2022
Reporter Charles Boehm reported on Louis Van Gaal’s remarks, here’s what else the Dutch manager had to say:
LVG on Berhalter: "What I can tell you is what I’ve observed … I’ve observed a vision. I see a team that’s keen to execute that vision and that’s of the utmost importance. I’ve seen especially the conviction of the players and that’s fantastic"
— Charles Boehm (@cboehm) December 2, 2022
"…it from this squad, but when you watch them play, it’s crystal clear that they’ve had opportunities … I had expected the USA to progress, in any case, after their first match, because I hadn’t seen them before that."
— Charles Boehm (@cboehm) December 2, 2022
Berhalter on why Gio Reyna hasn't played more: "I think a lot of it comes down to timing and circumstance. If you look at how the games have unfolded, we've had the lead & had to hold on to the lead later in games. The only game that we didn't have that scenario, we actually…"
— Charles Boehm (@cboehm) December 2, 2022
Berhalter on what he learned from his playing days in the Netherlands, his first stop in Europe, during a period he called "a real renaissance for Dutch soccer": "Spacing, the positional game, third man, triangles, all those things …"
— Charles Boehm (@cboehm) December 2, 2022
While it’s been suggested the temperature in Doha has something to do with the sicknesses that is not confirmed. Here it’s suggested that going back and forth between hot and cold is what led to the flu outbreak:
Just got back from Qatar where I dumped a 55 gallon drum labeled “FLU” into the Dutch camps water supply, time to check the news https://t.co/t6biEilsFB
— Peter Berkes (@peterberkes) December 2, 2022
A much more plausible explanation is that it’s just flu season across the Northern Hemisphere. Even if it’s not perfect ‘flu conditions’ in Qatar the athletes and countless fans + media traveled from all over the planet.
It is too early to say who will and won’t be playing against the USMNT:
Apparently the flu is going around the Dutch camp and it looks like Frenkie de Jong won't be playing and who knows how many others will get a touch of it and still play. The odds of the US beating an already beatable Netherlands get better every hour.
— Stefan (@fiorentinaplus) December 2, 2022
Anyone who has ever had the flu knows how debilitating it can be. The rapid weight loss and fatigue can take you down for days and sometimes weeks.
While this is awful timing and terrible news for The Netherlands, it could be great news for the USMNT who are underdogs. That’s just the nature of sports. It’s not celebrating sickness on one side it’s just getting lucky when the stars align and possibly getting some small competitive advantage. The Americans also revealed that several players came down with the flu upon arrival in Qatar.
Despite reports of the flu, the USMNT are still +310 dogs to win the game.