DBasia.news – The Dutch national team coach, Louis van Gaal said his team had learned a lot from the draw against Montenegro. Challenging Norway in the final Group G match of the 2022 World Cup qualifiers, the Netherlands won 2-0.
Indeed, the Netherlands had a chance to qualify directly for the 2022 World Cup when they faced Montenegro in the previous match. However, a 2-2 draw made the Netherlands struggle until the last game.
Facing Norway in front of their own supporters, the Netherlands did not necessarily play loose. A number of opportunities for Virgil van Dijk and his friends ended up not being goals.
However, the Dutch have taken lessons from the previous duel. The Netherlands broke into Norway’s goal in the 84th minute through Steven Bergwijn. After that, in injury time, Memphis Depay doubled the advantage to 2-0.
“I think we controlled the game for 90 minutes. You saw the difference between the 2-2 draw last Saturday against Montenegro. We played compact for 90 minutes,” said Van Gaal as reported by the official UEFA website.
“It’s been a really fantastic week to know each other not only at a difficult position, but also at a high. I really think they executed the strategy well today.”
“Norway had half a chance. I congratulate them for successfully carrying out the plan in the first half. However, you have to fight for another 45 minutes,” he explained.
Now, the Netherlands ensure themselves in the World Cup next year. This success erased the failure to qualify for the 2018 edition.