LOUIS VAN GAAL has come under fire from his homeland media for the Netherland's dull and insipid performances so far, yet they are a Round of 16 game with the USA away from reaching the quarter-finals of the World Cup.
Tipped by many as dark horses, the Dutch have completely ignored their famous Total Football philosophy in their three group games. They were handed by far the easiest group and to be fair they have won two against Senegal and hopeless Qatar and drawn the other against Ecuador.
But there's been little in the way of free-flowing football and for a nation that prides itself on that, it's led to heated exchanges between the ex-Manchester United manager and his homeland media who have been hugely unimpressed.
In contrast, USA have done superbly to get through a far more difficult group and overcome a hostile atmosphere to beat Iran and they remain unbeaten after two draws against Wales and England.
They appear to have a real spirit in the camp and have blown away the negativity that surrounded the squad due to poor results in the build-up to the tournament.
And Gregg Berhalter's men will fancy their chances of going deeper into the competition here.
How the bookies view it
Netherlands are the favourites here and are odds-on at 23/25. Perhaps those odds would have been less if the Dutch had impressed so far.
The Americans can be backed at 31/10 and the draw is 11/5.
Recent head to heads
The nations have met five times all in friendlies and although the Dutch lead 4-1, the States won the last encounter in 2015.
Players to watch
PSV Eindhoven striker Cody Gakpo has been the star of the show so far for the Dutch and has netted in every game. He will fancy his chances of making it four in a row at 49/20 with Highbet.
Timothy Weah scored against Wales and missed plenty of chances against Iran to add to that. The former Celtic loanee gets himself into good positions and has to be of interest at 24/5 to score anytime with Highbet.
Anything else catch the eye?
The Dutch would be a far shorter price if this was priced up before the tournament and they might be able to grind out another win here.
Criticism and unrest swirling around the Dutch camp is a stock trade at any World Cup and even though their football has been dull, it's been effective.
They have better players than the USA, no matter how spirited the Americans have been, the Dutch can find another gear and make it to the quarters.
There's unlikely to be a lot of goals here and it could be a tetchy, hard-fought affair. Go for under 1.5 goals at 7/4.
This World Cup match between Netherlands and USA will be played on Dec 3, 2022 and kick off at 15:00. Check below for our tipsters best Netherlands vs USA prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
