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12 min: Daley Blind gets in behind the Qatar defense played by Davy Klaassen. He passes the ball back to Klaassen, whose shot is blocked. The ball bounces back to Blind, who shoots from a tight angle when he might have been better served, taking it to Memphis Depay. Qatar goalkeeper Meshaal Barsham saves.
11 min: Akrim Afif wins a free-kick for his side deep in Qatar territory, going to ground in a thicket of Dutch players, although no one seems to be touching him. Qatar cleared the ball in the box.
9 min: Another clash of heads! This time it’s Daley Blind and Ismail Mohammed, who lands his second leg kick in these early stages. Blind seemed to come out the worst of this particular clash, but both looked fit to continue.
8 min: Qatar’s left-back Homam Ahmed now goes down needing treatment after a clash of heads while contesting a high ball.
7 min: There is a brief pause in play as Qatar right-back Ismail Mohamed receives treatment after taking a knock to the head.
4 mins: The Netherlands cut through Qatar’s defense like a hot knife through butter. Memphis Depay, who sets up to shoot but is pressed by the ball. He cuts in the direction of Davy Klaassen, who stretches out but fails to make contact.
Memphis Depay has an early chance for the Netherlands. Photo: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
Updated at 15.11 GMT
2 min: An early chance for Qatar as they steal the ball in midfield and go forward. Abdelaziz Hatem tries his luck from distance and his shot is on target. This did not unduly trouble Andries Knoppert in goal for the Dutch.
Updated at 15.07 GMT
Holland vs Qatar comes out…
1 minute: Netherlands move the ball and almost immediately play it from deep. It ricocheted into the box with Memphis Depay in hot pursuit. He stretches every sinew but can’t hook it to the target. Kick from the door.
Not long after: The teams take to the field, led by captains Virgil van Dijk and Hassan Al Haydos. They line up either side of Gambian referee Bakary Gassama and his team of match officials and it’s time for the national anthems. Qatar players wear white shirts, shorts and socks. The Dutch are a vision in orange. Although this is Qatar’s last game in this competition, there seem to be an awful lot of empty seats in the stadium.
Dutch players Jurien Timber (left) and Denzel Dumfries come out to warm up before today’s match. Photo: Sarah Steer/FIFA/Getty Images
These teams: As is his wont, Louis van Gaal is making fools of those of us who thought he would bench Maarten de Roon and Memphis Depay again. Memphis starts up front with Cody Gakpo and Steven Bergwijn drops to the bench. De Roon enters the midfield in place of Teun Koopmeiners.
Qatar coach Felix Sanchez makes one change as far as I can see. Karim Boudiaf drops out of midfield and is replaced by Abdelaziz Hatem.
Dutch fans make their way to Al Bait Stadium before the match kicks off. Photo: Hollandse Hoogte/REX/Shutterstock
Netherlands vs Qatar lineups
Netherlands: Andries Noppert, Daley Blind, Nathan Ake, Virgil van Dijk (c), Jurien Timber, Denzel Dumfries, Maarten de Roon, Davy Klaassen, Frenkie de Jong, Cody Gakpo, Memphis Depay.
Qatar: Meshal Barsham, Pedro Miguel, Abdelkarim Hassan, Abdelaziz Hatim, Hassan Al-Haydos (c), Akram Afif, Ismail Mohammad, Homam Ahmed, Asim Madibo, Boualem Kouhi, Almoez Ali.
Updated at 14.04 GMT
Louis van Gaal: “I think you always have to identify the goal, the goal you’re here for and then you can work your way towards that goal,” the Netherlands manager said when asked about his pre-tournament announcement that the Netherlands will won the tournament. “If you say, ‘Well, the round of 16 is enough, the quarter-finals is enough’, that’s not the right way to do things. The right way to do things is to think that you will become a champion. I never said we would become world champions, but that we can become that.”
Louis van Gaal speaks to the press ahead of his team’s final group game. Photo: Hollandse Hoogte/REX/Shutterstock
Felix Sanchez: “When you play against a team like the Netherlands, you don’t need motivation,” the Qatar manager said in his pre-match press conference. “It is a challenge for our players to face such a team. It was a very demanding group for us. We competed with our ups and downs. We’d rather be in a better situation.
“I think these players have achieved a lot in recent years. Now we have to be aware that to compete at this level we are still behind. I think if we work on it daily, we will gradually get closer to that level. I don’t feel disappointed or embarrassed. The World Cup is the most demanding competition and only a few can be here. We are still a little behind. The country will continue to work so that the next time Qatar comes to a world cup, hopefully soon, we can compete better than this time.”
Qatar’s Spanish coach Felix Sanchez looks on during a training session at the Aspire Zone training area in Doha yesterday. Photo: Karim Jaafar/AFP/Getty Images
Updated at 14.14 GMT
Match officials today
Gambian referee Bakary Gassama is responsible for maintaining the best order during today’s match. Photo: Themba Hadebe/AP
Early team news
Dutch players Memphis Depay and Maarten De Roon came into the tournament nursing injuries but both played off the bench in Holland’s draw with Ecuador but could start on the bench again today. Top scorer for both his nations in this tournament so far, Cody Gakpo is likely to start again.
After seeing the way he and PSV Eindhoven team-mate Xavi Simmons tore Arsenal’s defense apart at the Philips Stadion earlier this season, I hope Van Gaal will give the exciting but still uncapped 19-year-old his international debut sometime this afternoon.
Qatar manager Felix Sanchez has a fully prepared squad of players to choose from and could hand Mohamed Muntari a start ahead of Assin Madibo after the Al Duhail striker came off the bench to score his side’s only goal of the tournament so far against Senegal.
PSV Eindhoven midfielder Xavi Simmons is in the Netherlands squad but is yet to make his international debut. Photo: Robbie Jay Barratt/AMA/Getty Images
Group A: Netherlands vs Qatar
The giant Bedouin tent that is Al Bait Stadium is hosting one of two Group A matches being played simultaneously this afternoon. The Netherlands go into this match knowing that only a draw will guarantee them passage to the knockout stages, while Qatar are playing for nothing more than pride as they try to avoid the sharp indignity of becoming the first host nation in World Cup history to exit a tournament. without securing a single point.
In the extremely unlikely event that they beat the Dutch, Louis van Gaal’s side could progress to the last 16 if Ecuador beat Senegal in their other group game. Kick-off at Al Cor is at 15:00 (GMT), but in the meantime stay tuned for team news and build-up.
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