In the first match of the Round of 16, the Netherlands, the top of Group A, played against the United States, the second place in Group B. The Dutch team was expected to dominate the possession of the ball despite their overall superiority. Compared to the star-studded front line of the past, this year's Dutch team is better at defending than attacking, but was expected to dominate possession of the ball even though they are stronger than the United States as a whole, but veteran Dutch coach Louis van Gaal didn't hesitate to cede control of the ball to the U.S. The Dutch midfield is not bad, but it includes Tyler Adams (Weston Adams) and McKenney (Weston Adams). The U.S. midfield is not bad, but the trio of Tyler Adams, Weston McKennie and Yunus Musah are not good at positional play, and are better at attacking and counter-attacking. On the other hand, the Dutch, with Van Hall's calculations, threw their own poor positional organization at their opponents, and their first goal was scored on a counter-attack, assisted by right wingback Denzel Dumfries.
the national team
Goal machine Memphis Depay scored. After the deadlock, the Netherlands assisted Daley Blind to make the score 2-0 at half time, and in the second half, although the United States recovered a goal, the Dutch team Dumfries was like a god in this game, after two assists in the first half, this time broke the goal himself, and the Netherlands beat the United States 3-1 at the end of the game,
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Elite Eight.
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Team: Netherlands (opponent in the last eight: Argentina)
In the second match of the Round of 16, Argentina, the top of Group C, faced Australia, the second place in Group D. Both sides were expected to dominate the game for most of the match. Both sides' lineups are quite different in terms of star power and thickness. Before the match, it was widely expected that Argentina would dominate most of the game, while Australia would focus on stabilizing their defense and try to threaten the opponent's goal with counterattacks. Argentina played a 4-3-1-2 attack-oriented starting formation to facilitate the positional attack, but the actual effect was not satisfactory after the start, while Australia did not have much to offer in the attack, but still relied on solid defense to keep Argentina from scoring. It was not until the 35th minute of the first half that Argentina got a free kick on the right side of the field.
Lionel Messi (1987-), Argentine footballer
（Lionel Messi's direct shot was parried by the goalkeeper and the ball was back in Argentina's hands.
Lionel Messi (1987-), Argentine footballer
In the second wave of the attack, after a diagonal pass from the right to a teammate, he inserted himself into the penalty area and worked with central defender Nicolas Otamendi before firing a left-footed shot into the net, helping his team to open the scoring, which was also the only goal scored by the two teams in the first half. In the second half, Australia intensified their attack, and Argentina replaced Lisandro Martinez with three center backs, freeing up Enzo Fernandez, who was the back-up midfielder in the first half, to control the field in a more forward position, which made Argentina's attack a little bit better, but in the positional battle, the effect was limited, and the left and right sides could only make frequent long passes, but it was still difficult to break through Australia's iron formation. However, Argentina's offense was a little bit more effective in the positional battle, with frequent long passes from both sides of the field, but it was still difficult to break through Australia's iron barrel formation, but the score was still extended by Julian Alvarez. In the 77th minute, Australia recovered a goal through an ould goal, and towards the end of the match, they used their center backs as wingers to try to equalize the score with a gamble, and almost scored in the last 30 seconds of injury time, but luckily, Argentine keeper Emiliano Martínez's heroic save prevented the team from being equalized. In the end, Argentina beat Australia 2-1.
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Elite Eight.
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Team: Argentina (opponent in the last eight: Netherlands)
France, the top of Group C, faced Poland, the second-place finisher in Group D, in the Round of 16, and there was a huge gap between the two sides in terms of reputation and strength. After the opening match, although France still dominated the ball and launched waves after waves of attacks, Poland still relied on the press to create a lot of trouble for France in the center and backfield, and even Hugo Lloris, the French goalkeeper, almost made a cheap mistake, but fortunately did not concede a goal. In the first half, France broke the deadlock with Olivier Giroud's brilliant positioning and shooting, and Giroud also scored 52 goals.
the national team
The goal broke the record held by the legendary Thierry Henry.
the national team
The scales began to tip in France's favor. With Giroud in the center of the defense, Kylian Mbappe was freed up to score, and he eventually did.
score twice in a row
It killed Poland's
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Hopes. Poland, on the other hand, was able to avoid a shutout thanks to a twelve-yard penalty awarded in injury time, which was scored by Robert Lewandowski. The final score was 3-1 in favor of Poland.
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Elite Eight.
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Team: France (opponent in the last eight: England)
As expected, England were no strangers to Senegal, who topped Group B and finished second in Group A. At the start of the first half, the two sides fought fiercely, with only sporadic chances for each other to score, but after a few waves of Senegalese counter-attacks, England's 19-year old starlet Jude Bellingham kept up his hot streak, and in the latter part of the first half he first passed a pass from the left to Jordan Henderson in the center of the field, and then in stoppage time he took the lead over three defenders to launch an attack. In the second half, England's 19-year-old Jude Bellingham continued his hot streak, first passing to Jordan Henderson in the middle of the field, and then in stoppage time, he took the ball past three defenders and attacked, with captain Harry Kane scoring with a one-touch counterattack. In the 57th minute of the second half, the Three Lions continued to build on the left side of the pitch, with left winger Phil Foden crossing the ball into the box for Bukayo Saka to score. With a three-goal lead, England started to rotate their team to maintain their strength, but the demoralized Senegal was still unable to fight back, and England finally shut out Senegal 3-0,
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The eight-team tournament, while the Three Lions continue their unbeaten record against African teams.
