Netherlands 2-0 Qatar: Gakpo & De Jong secure Group A top spot for Netherlands

Netherlands eased into the last 16 of the World Cup as they clinched top spot in Group A with a 2-0 win over Qatar.

Cody Gakpo opened the scoring for Netherlands for the third consecutive game midway through the first half, before Frenkie De Jong net his first World Cup goal shortly after half-time.

There was no doubt who had been the star of the tournament for the Netherlands so far, and Gakpo struck again on 26 minutes to give his side the lead.

In the opener against Senegal he had scored with his head, against Ecuador he netted with his left, and against Qatar he completed his perfect hat-trick with a right-footed drive from just inside the area.

After 49 minutes it was two. Davy Klaassen's cross came off a defender's head and found Memphis Depay at the far post. His effort from close range was saved, but it fell kindly for De Jong to prod into an empty net from just a few yards.

Netherlands thought they had a third on 68 minutes as Steven Berghuis tapped hom from close range just a few minutes after coming on as a substitute, but VAR ruled the goal out for a handball by Gakpo in the buildup.

But it didn't cost them, as they prepare to turn their eyes to the evening's Group B games to find out who their opponents in the last 16 will be.

Netherlands head into the last 16 as group winners, where they will face the runner-up in Group B. They are joined by Senegal who beat Ecuador 2-1 in the other Group A game.

As a result, Qatar become the first hosts in World Cup history to fail to pick up a win or even a point.

Match Events

2' Qatar's shot too straight

25' GOAL! Netherlands 1-0 Qatar (Cody Gakpo)

28' CLOSE! Ismaeel Mohammed’s shot too straight

34' Good defence from Van Dijk

48' GOAL! Netherlands 2-0 Qatar (De Jong)

51' Yellow Card! Ake booked

68' Handball! Netherlands’ goal disallowed

Line-ups

Netherlands XI: Noppert, Dumfries, Van Dijk, Timber, Blind, Ake; De Roon, Klaassen, De Jong; Gakpo, Depay

Subs: Remko Pasveer, Luuk de Jong, De Vrij, Berghuis, Weghorst, Vincent Janssen, Bergwijn, Justin Bijlow, De Ligt, Teun Koopmeiners, Lang, Tyrell Malacia, Kenneth Taylor, Jeremie Frimpong, Xavi Simons

Qatar XI: Barsham; Mohammad. Miguel, Khouki, Hassan, Ahmed; Madibo, Hatem, Al-Haydos; Ali, Afif

Subs: Saad Al-Sheeb, Ali Asad, Karim Boudiaf, Ahmed Alaaeldin, Musab Khoder, Mohammed Muntari, Salem Al-Hajri, Yousef Hassan, Tarek Salman, Mohammed Waad, Khalid Muneer Mazeed, Mustafa Mashaal, Naif Al-Hadhrami, Jassem Gaber Abdulsallam