The Dutch team, known as the Oranje, celebrated a convincing win over Tunisia, highlighted by a record-equalling 12th own goal of the tournament and additional goals from Brian Brobbey and Jan Paul van Hecke. This triumph secured the Netherlands the top position in Group F, allowing them to avoid a matchup with Brazil in the knockout stage.
Instead, Ronald Koeman’s squad will face Morocco in a highly anticipated match in Monterrey. Having traveled across southern Texas for nearly a month, including stops in Dallas, Houston, and Kansas City, their specially modified bus now faces a lengthy journey of over 1,000 miles to reach northern Mexico for the game on Monday.
Earlier in the day, the traditional march of Dutch supporters to the stadium was significantly bolstered by local Kansas City fans, who typically refrain from wearing orange due to its association with the Chiefs’ NFL rivals, the Denver Broncos, but made an exception for this event. Unfortunately, severe rain and lightning caused the pre-match festivities to conclude prematurely, forcing the fanzone to close under a shelter-in-place order at the venue generally known as Arrowhead Stadium. Thankfully, this order was lifted an hour before kickoff as the weather improved, although the exposed stadium still required fans to don ponchos during the second half.
Koeman was quick to defend Frenkie de Jong, who faced media criticism after responding to detractors by stating, “in reality, many people don’t understand football” following their previous 5-1 victory over Sweden. Despite some injury worries, the Barcelona midfielder played a critical role in the match, as he was part of a nearly full-strength lineup, missing only Tottenham’s Mickey van de Ven and Crysencio Summerville due to yellow card suspensions.
Hervé Renard, who was on holiday in Senegal, received a call to replace Sabri Lamouchi after Tunisia’s disheartening 5-1 loss to Sweden. This marked his 145th match as an international manager, having previously coached five different African nations, including two terms with Zambia. The charismatic 57-year-old, who led Saudi Arabia to a stunning victory over Argentina in the last World Cup, hinted at the possibility of extending his tenure with the Carthage Eagles, expressing, “I missed Africa.”
However, Renard may reconsider after witnessing his team’s defensive struggles in the opening minutes of the match. They had an opportunity to take the lead within the first 70 seconds, but Ismael Gharbi, one of four players substituted in from the previous match, squandered a prime chance after receiving a pass from Hazem Mastouri. Less than a minute later, the Netherlands took advantage when Ellyes Skhiri inadvertently redirected a cross from Denzel Dumfries into his own net, tying the record set in Qatar four years prior before the group stages were even concluded.
Brobbey extended the lead shortly after, as an unmarked Virgil van Dijk found the Sunderland striker from a free-kick. The small contingent of Tunisia fans must have braced for a difficult match at that point. They could have potentially equalized if Norwich’s Anis Ben Slimane had managed to direct his header a yard away from Bart Verbruggen.
With Japan tied with Sweden at halftime, the Netherlands had ample reason to relax. Dumfries nearly scored a third goal at the beginning of the second half, but his volley was blocked.
Following a header from Mastouri off a corner taken by Hannibal Mejbri, news flashed on the screen that Daezen Maeda had scored for Japan. Any tension for the Dutch was quickly dispelled when Van Hecke scored with a header from a corner, re-establishing the two-goal lead, greeted by cheers when Anthony Elanga’s equalizer for Sweden was displayed on the big screen.
A brilliant chip from Tijjani Reijnders hit the crossbar, which would have sealed the victory for the Netherlands. Late in the match, substitute Memphis Depay almost connected with a spectacular acrobatic attempt. Nevertheless, Koeman is aware that facing a seasoned Morocco team will present a much tougher challenge than the struggling Tunisia side.
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