The Dutch barely broke a sweat in their 2-0 win over Qatar at the Al-Bayt Stadium, ending the hosts’ World Cup campaign with a third straight defeat.
The Qataris had been eliminated after their 3-1 loss to Senegal and despite huge investment in state-of-the-art facilities to host the World Cup, they came up short again on the pitch.
They were not without their moments in a dull first half, forcing a couple of corners and threatening on the edge of the Dutch area, but no sooner had they bared their teeth than they were hit with a gut-punch of a goal by Gakpo.
Davy Klaassen played an inviting ball into the path of the 23-year-old and he received it at pace, slicing through the heart of the defence before dispatching a well-placed shot past Meshaal Bersham to open the scoring in the 26th minute.
Four minutes into the second half the Dutch struck again as a cross from Klaassen made its way to Memphis Depay, who made a rare start, and the Qatari defence was caught ball-watching as his shot was saved, allowing Frenkie de Jong to bundle it into the net.
With Qatar lacking the quality to mount a comeback, the Dutch had a goal ruled out after Gakpo was judged to have handled the ball in the build-up, but they still coasted to victory.
The result sends the Netherlands in to the last 16, with Qatar having played their final game in the World Cup.
The defeat means Qatar, current Asian champions, become the first World Cup hosts to lose all three group matches.
The Netherlands are a three-time runner-up at the World Cup, finishing third in 2014, but failing to qualify for the 2018 World Cup. Qatar was making its tournament debut and will now go back to planning the future of the game in the country.
The Qataris had been eliminated after their 3-1 loss to Senegal and despite huge investment in state-of-the-art facilities to host the World Cup, they came up short again on the pitch.
They were not without their moments in a dull first half, forcing a couple of corners and threatening on the edge of the Dutch area, but no sooner had they bared their teeth than they were hit with a gut-punch of a goal by Gakpo.
Davy Klaassen played an inviting ball into the path of the 23-year-old and he received it at pace, slicing through the heart of the defence before dispatching a well-placed shot past Meshaal Bersham to open the scoring in the 26th minute.
Four minutes into the second half the Dutch struck again as a cross from Klaassen made its way to Memphis Depay, who made a rare start, and the Qatari defence was caught ball-watching as his shot was saved, allowing Frenkie de Jong to bundle it into the net.
With Qatar lacking the quality to mount a comeback, the Dutch had a goal ruled out after Gakpo was judged to have handled the ball in the build-up, but they still coasted to victory.
The result sends the Netherlands in to the last 16, with Qatar having played their final game in the World Cup.
The defeat means Qatar, current Asian champions, become the first World Cup hosts to lose all three group matches.
The Netherlands are a three-time runner-up at the World Cup, finishing third in 2014, but failing to qualify for the 2018 World Cup. Qatar was making its tournament debut and will now go back to planning the future of the game in the country.
