Qatar - the host team with the worst record in World Cup history

In the match between the Netherlands and Qatar, coach Louis van Gaal's team did not have to spend too much effort to win 2-0 to enter the round of 16 as the top team. Below is the assessment of the winners and losers after the final match of Group A of the 2022 World Cup.

The Netherlands easily won against Qatar thanks to the brilliant performance of Cody Gakpo and the young PSV star continued to create a memorable milestone in his career. He is the player who scored the opening goal for the Netherlands in all 3 group stage matches at the 2022 World Cup. The last person to do this was Altobelli of the Italian national team at the 1986 World Cup. Statistics show that Gakpo finished the match against Qatar with an 84% passing accuracy rate, touched the ball 49 times, successfully contested 4/4 times, had 3 successful tackles and 1 goal.

Barcelona midfielder De Jong played well in this match, excelling in the role of "boss" of the Dutch midfield with impressive ball control, coordination and regulation. Thanks to De Jong's regulation ability, the Netherlands continuously put pressure on Qatar. According to Whoscored, De Jong was the second highest-rated Dutch player in this match (7.8 points), just a little behind his teammate Gakpo (8.1 points). Coach Van Gaal hopes his student continues to maintain his current form to take the Netherlands far in this World Cup.

Since Van Gaal took over the hot seat in August 2021, the spirit and way the Netherlands played have been completely different from their predecessors. In the 2022/23 Nations League, Van Gaal brought his team to the semi-finals. Coming to the 2022 World Cup with a force that is not really abundant and has many options like France, Portugal or Brazil, the Netherlands still made their own mark. They finished the group stage in the No. 1 position, just like they did in the 2014 World Cup. At that time, the Netherlands led by Van Gaal won the 3rd place overall. Now, fans hope that the Netherlands can repeat the same achievement.

The Spanish coach was under a lot of pressure to help Qatar have a successful World Cup finals when playing on home soil. Unfortunately, with the limited capacity of Qatar players, everything became too difficult for Sanchez, even though he tried to change and adjust at each moment of the matches against Ecuador, Senegal and the Netherlands. But in the end, that still could not help Qatar win what they expected. Perhaps after the biggest football festival on the planet ended, Sanchez will leave.

Hosts Qatar have been criticized for using money to buy their place in the World Cup and the reality proves that without money, they are not sure when they will be able to breathe the air of this tournament. The defeat to the Netherlands in the final match of Group A of the 2022 World Cup made Qatar the host team with the worst record in World Cup history.

With this achievement, Qatar became the only host team to have no points after the group stage. Specifically, Qatar ended the tournament with 0 points, scored 1 goal and conceded 7, with a goal difference of -6. The Gulf team also became the host team with the fewest goals scored and the second host team in the 21st century to stop in the group stage of a World Cup (after South Africa in 2010).

In another development, with a resounding victory over Wales, England won the ticket to continue as the top team of Group B.

The 6-point match between Iran and the US ended with a minimal victory for the US team thanks to the only goal scored by "US captain" Christian Pulisic in the first half.