Memphis Depay and Daley Blind scored in the first half and Denzil Dumfries added a late goal as the Netherlands eliminated the United States from the World Cup with a 3-1 victory Saturday that advanced the Dutch to the quarterfinals.
Second-half subsitute Haji Wright cut the U.S. deficit to 2-1 in the 76th minute when Christian Pulisic's cross hit his trailing foot and popped over goalkeeper Andries Noppert and into the net. But Dumfries, who assisted on the first two goals, scored on a volley in the 81st.
A losing finalist in 1974, 1978 and 2010, the Dutch had failed to reach the 2018 World Cup in Russia. The Netherlands opened this tournament with a 2-0 win over Senegal, tied Ecuador 1-1 and beat host Qatar 2-0 to top Group A.
Louis van Gaal, at 71 the oldest coach at the tournament, is back for his third stint leading Oranje. He guided them to a third-place finish in 2014.
The Netherlands is on an 18-game unbeaten streak since losing to the Czech Republic in the round of 16 at last year's European Championship.
