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Rob DawsonReporter
louis van gaal branded Netherlandsfirst half performance against United States of america as “unacceptable” despite booking their place in the World Cup quarter-finals with 3-1 Victory.
Van Gaal’s side went 2-0 up at half-time thanks to a goal memphis depe And daily blindBut the 71-year-old was not happy with the overall performance in the first 45 minutes and warned that if it was repeated against high-quality opposition, he would be ousted.
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Van Gaal said, “I was very critical in my analysis at half-time, despite the fact that we were 2–0 up.”
“I think they were great goals and one of those goals was actually a team goal. However, we suffered so much in the first half, we were disallowed so many times and it is not necessary.
“If you play top countries, it is not acceptable in the World Cup. In the second half, we did a better job despite scoring fewer goals.”
The Netherlands’ victory – their first World Cup knockout victory since finishing third under Van Gaal in 2014 – set up a quarter-final clash with both Argentina either Australia,
Van Gaal later insisted that it was a performance that would give his players confidence ahead of the last eight and reiterated his claim that his players were good enough to leave Qatar as world champions.
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“We are very, very happy,” he said.
“I hope not FranceArgentina or spain The Netherlands are going to be friendly but I think we have huge potential here.
“I have been talking for a year that we can become world champions, not that we will but we can. I am talking about team building and I am happy with the group of players and the performance and the results. meets.”
