Oranje, Us

They didn't do it the easy way, but our youthful USMNT cleared the first hurdle at the 2022 Men's World Cup, beating Iran, 1-0, to advance from the group stage. As a reward, FIFA has placed a significant obstacle in their way. Soccer royalty, in the form of the Netherlands, awaits at 10:00 ET this morning.

The Dutch weren't great in their opening three matches (more about which later), but they didn't have to be. Louis van Gaal's side rarely got out of second gear in beating Senegal and Qatar and drawing with Ecuador to top Group A with a +4 goal differential. William and Mary's Oranje are ranked 8th in the latest FIFA world rankings (our guys are 16th), and feature superstars like Liverpool's Virgil van Dijk, Barcelona's Memphis Depay and Frenkie de Jong, Manchester City's Nathan Ake, and Bayern Munich's Matthjis de Ligt. They are formidable. 

Before we get to tomorrow's game, we've got some glow-basking still to do. The win over Iran will long be remembered in the annals of American soccer - and sport, for that matter. Christian Pulisic's physical sacrifice gave us our only goal, Tim Ream and Cameron Carter-Vickers barely put a foot wrong in central defense (and Walker Zimmerman was towering when he came in as a defensive substitute), Yunus Musah was electric on the ball, and Tyler Adams was indefatigable in central midfield.

And the Iranians? My goodness, those resolute bastards. In the midst of a geopolitical storm not of their making, Team Melli came inches short of advancing (literally so, in the form of a ball that squirted past U.S. keeper Matt Turner and rolled agonizingly towards the goal before Zimmerman thumped it away). ESPN's Gabriel Marcotti wrote this of the Iranians and their place in this World Cup, "The contrast between artificial, plastic vulgarity and genuine, visceral emotion was evident."

No place did that sentiment ring true than in the post-match embrace between U.S. defender Antonee Robinson and Iranian midfielder Ramin Rezaeian - this is the good shit:

🤝 ¡Qué hermoso es el fútbol! ✌🏻🕊 🇺🇸 🇮🇷

🫂 Ramin Rezaeian, jugador de #IRN, fue consolado por jugadores de #USA luego de quedar fuera de la #FIFAWorldCup.

🤜 Una imagen muy emotiva.#MundialTelemundo pic.twitter.com/J8bytmrhCO

— Telemundo Deportes (@TelemundoSports) November 29, 2022

After they caught their breath, the U.S. returned to their hotel to a giddy reception, including the aforementioned Pulisic, who seemed at the very least to not be crippled as he greeted his teammates. Weston McKennie said afterwards that he'd never seen Pulisic so happy. 

the hotel was ROWDY when we got back 🎉🎉🎉🎉 pic.twitter.com/xa5lBnDWO2

— U.S. Men's National Soccer Team (@USMNT) November 30, 2022

Let's take that vibe with us as we turn to tomorrow's match. 

The Dutch are good, without question. But let's look at a couple of data points that suggest the U.S. may have a fighting chance. 

12 of the 26 Dutch players compete in one of Europe's top leagues (England, Germany, France, Spain, Italy). How many Americans do the same? Would you be surprised to learn that it's precisely the same 12?

We noted previously that the Dutch were okay but not great in the group stage. In particular, they only managed two shots in their 1-1 draw with Ecuador, while the South Americans tallied 15.

I'm not saying the U.S. is going to win, but I'm a lot more bullish on our chances than I was before I started digging in. We've given up exactly zero goals in the run of play thus far in the World Cup. Ream, Zimmerman, and Carter-Vickers have been stout, and Adams is playing his way onto the World Cup Best XI. The Dutch have scored five goals, three of them by breakout forward Cody Gakpo (on the only three shots he's taken) - stop him, and take our chances.

Sergiño Dest, the USMNT's quicksilver right back, will be a story in this match. Born in the Netherlands to a Dutch father and a Surinamese-American mother, Dest chose to represent the U.S. in 2019, despite entreaties from the Oranje. He played at Ajax as a younger pro before moving to Barcelona and then AC Milan, so he'll know many of the Dutch players. If it's possible to have extra motivation at a World Cup, Dest will have it.

Given that, and understanding Dest's natural predilection to play his ostensibly defensive role in an attacking fashion, Adams' role will be all the more important, if that's possible. As Dest (and his left-sided counterpart Robinson) bomb forward to join the attack, Adams will be asked to cover just about everything.

Josh Sargent suffered a tweaked ankle against Iran, and Haji Wright was poor in his stead. With JesusFerreira heretofore pinned to the bench, it'll be interesting to see what Gregg Berhalter does at the tip of the American spear. I'm still hoping we'll see Gio Reyna get some run. We've gotta unlock something, as we only scored two goals in the group.

Iran coach Carlos Quieroz said before the US/Iran match that the Americans have "Ferraris", complimenting the USMNT's fast, fit, athletic side. I expect the U.S. will have an athletic advantage against the Dutch, while our opponents will likely be more technical and have more experience. The Dutch will have more of the ball, and we'll see the USMNT have some opportunities on the counter-attack. Unlike the Iran match, a 0-0 score at the half wouldn't be a bad thing for us.

In the end, we have no reason to fear the Dutch, despite their longstanding reputation as one of the world's best teams. We can win. Ultimately, I don't think we will - the Baby Nats are one cycle early. But we'll give 'em hell. Gonna need Marls to post his gif, and I'll make some stupid bets. We've all gotta to do our part.