The United States secured passage to the knockout stages of the 2022 World Cup with a 1-0 win over Iran on Tuesday.
An occasionally nervy but deserved victory for Gregg Berhalter’s side ensured they clinched a second-placed finish in Group B, two points behind winners England.
That means they will now face Group A winners Netherlands in the Round of 16, with the game taking place at Khalifa International Stadium on Saturday.
Surprisingly, that game will not only be the first World Cup clash contested by the two nations, but also their first-ever competitive meeting. However, they have met in friendlies a number of times before.
Here, we examine who holds the advantage in terms of head-to-head record from those clashes.
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— U.S. Men’s National Soccer Team (@USMNT) November 29, 2022
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USA 0 Netherlands 2, February 1998
This first meeting in Miami was decided by goals from two men who had risen to stardom as key figures in Louis van Gaal’s Champions League-winning Ajax side of 1994-95.
Ronald de Boer opened the scoring after just two minutes and Clarence Seedorf got the second just a minute into the second half.
USA 0 Netherlands 2, May 2002
The same scoreline was repeated four years later in another friendly in Foxborough.
Roy Makaay and Andy van der Meyde netted for the Dutch, who had Netherlands assistant coach Edgar Davids in their starting XI.
Current USMNT head coach Gregg Berhalter featured as a substitute.
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Netherlands 1 USA 0, February 2004
Berhalter started the first-ever game between the sides in the Netherlands, but he couldn’t stop the United States falling to another defeat.
A 21-year-old Arjen Robben decided the outcome, scoring his second international goal in the 57th minute in Amsterdam.
Netherlands 2 USA 1, March 2010
Carlos Bocanegra grabbed the United States’ first goal against the Netherlands, but it was little more than an 88th-minute consolation from an Amsterdam rematch.
A Dirk Kuyt penalty and a strike from Klaas Jan Huntelaar had already done the damage for the hosts.
Netherlands 3 USA 4, June 2015
The United States completed a remarkable comeback to earn their first-ever win over the Dutch in this thriller.
The Netherlands were cruising at 3-1 up after a Huntelaar brace and a goal from Memphis Depay — who likely be part of the Dutch team on Saturday — had seemingly rendered Gyasi Zardes’ first-half strike irrelevant.
However, John Brooks netted with 20 minutes to go before Danny Williams smashed home to earn a seemingly creditable draw with two minutes of time remaining.
There was, though, still a twist in the tale, as Bobby Wood popped up to win it for the visitors just moments after Luuk de Jong had hit the crossbar at the other end.
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