The Netherlands had an extremely difficult time in the World Cup dress rehearsal against Uzbekistan, but narrowly won 2-1 (1-0) thanks to two penalty kicks from Cody Gakpo.
The team that was one of the favorites for the World Cup failed to decide the game much earlier, despite having a lot of ball possession and a good pace. Tijjani Reijnders should have headed Oranje into the lead as early as the 13th minute after Cody Gakpo and Denzel Dumfries had done perfect preparatory work – but Reijnders narrowly missed the goal when he was behind.
Gakpo scores from the penalty spot
It was only after half an hour of oppressive but fruitless superiority that the lead was achieved: the fast Crysencio Summerville took a penalty against Jakhongir Urozov, which Gakpo safely converted.
Penalty taken: Netherlands’ Crysencio Summerville (l.)
But even after that, far too little came out of the game. However, the second penalty should have been given before the break when Donyell Malen was clearly fouled in the penalty area. The whistle of the American referee Alyssa Pennington remained silent, and surprisingly no correction was made in the Icahn Stadium in New York, which looked more like a district league pitch.
Endless missed opportunities
In the second round the picture remained identical. The Uzbeks, who will face Portugal, Colombia and Congo in Group K at the World Cup, almost completely refrained from moving forward and more or less endured the Dutch attacks.
But Gakpo after Reijnders’ pass, twice Summerville after good crosses and Ryan Gravenberch after a pass from Gakpo missed even the best opportunities. Shortly before the final whistle, there was almost revenge: Pennington initially overlooked a clear handball by Oranje defender Guus Til, and was then ordered to the screen by the video assistant. Although the offense took place on the penalty area line, the team moved the crime scene to the outside, there was a free kick and a red card for Til for preventing a clear goal-scoring opportunity. Otabek Shukurov hit the free kick over the goal.
Verbruggen is injured, Flekken concedes the 1:1
But Uzbekistan suddenly felt like going on the offensive, and the Dutch’s concentration waned from minute to minute. And substitute keeper Mark Flekken, who replaced Bart Verbruggen with a hip injury in the last 25 minutes, actually conceded the equalizer: Igor Sergeev took advantage of a collective blackout by the Oranje defense to make it 1-1 late.
But it wasn’t enough for the Uzbeks to draw. In the 8th minute of stoppage time, the Dutch were awarded another penalty, which Gakpo converted again. The Uzbeks, coached by Fabio Cannavaro, criticized the attacker for making an incorrect attempt, but Pennington let the goal stand.
Timber is out, Koeman brings in Geertruida
Before kick-off, the Netherlands announced defender Jurrien Timber was out of the World Cup. The Arsenal FC professional has not recovered sufficiently from a groin injury, the association said in a statement. The injury had been bothering the 24-year-old since mid-March, but Timber still played 55 minutes for Arsenal in the lost Champions League final against Paris Saint-Germain a week ago. From the Oranje’s point of view, it wasn’t enough for the World Cup.
Bond coach Ronald Koeman replaced the defender with former Leipzig professional Lutsharel Geertruida from AFC Sunderland. The Dutch will start the tournament on June 14th against Japan, and Uzbekistan will face Colombia four days later.