World Cup live updates: USA v Netherlands coverage

Dutch team fights flu

The Americans face a Dutch team who, like several other World Cup teams at this tournament, are battling the flu. The bug ran through the US team last week.

Netherlands coach Louis van Gaal gave his side the day off on Thursday instead of playing a typical 11v11 game.

“I gave them a day off,” Van Gaal said on Friday. “With this group, they communicate that to me. I listen to my players. »

He declined to specify how many players are affected, but by abandoning the typical training schedule, Van Gaal has created speculation that at least six players are ill.

“We’re not going to develop that,” he said. “But if it circulates in the group, it is worrying.”

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How to watch Team USA vs Holland

USA’s must-watch game against the Dutch, which is being played at Khalifa International Stadium in Qatar, begins at 9 a.m. EST.

It will air on Fox, in Spanish on Telemundo and stream on Peacock.

The United States is trying to qualify for the quarter-finals for the first time since 2002, but the team is winless in its last 11 World Cup matches against European sides, a streak that includes five losses and six null.

What’s in the ‘magic spray’ used by World Cup players, and does it really work?

World Cup viewers are likely familiar with the “magic spray” that is sometimes ejected after a player falls to the ground, writhing in pain from a mid-game injury.

The aerosol substance occasionally sparks renewed intrigue, when team medics spray players with it and then send them back to action, seemingly cured. So how does the spray work, and how magical is it?

Read the full story here.

Hot but not brutal evening to play in Qatar

It will be a summer vibe in Qatar for the Round of 16 game between the United States and the Netherlands.

The forecast is for 80 degrees at 6 p.m. local time (10 a.m. EST) at the Khalifa International Stadium in Al Rayyan, when the Americans and Dutch kick off. It will be a little cooler, 77 degrees, at 8 p.m. locally, when the final 90-minute whistle is likely to sound.

Outdoor stadiums in Qatar have been fitted with cooling systems, much to the chagrin of environmentalists.

The World Cup is usually played in June and July, when most of the world’s major football leagues are on hiatus between seasons. But when the tournament was awarded to Qatar, organizers agreed to move it to November and December to avoid the searing desert heat.

Christian Pulisic cleared to play against Netherlands after injury in game

USA striker Christian Pulisic was cleared to play in the team’s Round of 16 match against the Netherlands, the USA men’s soccer team. announcement Friday.

Pulisic, 24, suffered a pelvic contusion relatively early in Tuesday’s game after crashing into Iranian goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand as he scored the game’s only goal.

The USMNT had described Pulisic’s status after the game as day-to-day.

Read the full story here.

USA seeking rare World Cup quarter-final appearance

An American upset by the Netherlands would take coach Gregg Berhalter’s men to the quarter-finals and a stage rarely occupied in American football history.

The United States men’s team reached the semi-finals of the first World Cup in 1930, finishing third, behind runners-up Argentina and hosts and champions Uruguay.

The Americans have come closer since that 1930 run in 2002, when they reached the quarter-finals of that tournament in South Korea and Japan.

Qatar World Cup lays bare huge environmental cost of tournament

Air conditioning in huge outdoor stadiums, hundreds of international flights, lots and lots of lights.

More than a million people traveled to Qatar for one of the biggest sporting events on the planet. But as it hosts the FIFA World Cup, controversy also descends on the tiny Gulf kingdom.

Along with concerns about human rights, anti-LGBTQ laws and the treatment of migrant workers – issues that have dogged the tournament for years – critics say Qatar 2022 will be one of the most damaging to the country. modern day environment.

Prior to the tournament, several environmentally conscious professional players signed an open letter to FIFA earlier this month, urging the world’s football governing body to drop its disputed claim that the World Cup in Qatar is carbon neutral and review its plans for next year’s Women’s World Cup being hosted by Australia and New Zealand.

Read it full story here.