06/25/26 08:46:00
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06/25 20:10 CDT Brian Brobbey and the Dutch roll in the rain to a 3-1 win over
Tunisia to top World Cup Group F
Brian Brobbey and the Dutch roll in the rain to a 3-1 win over Tunisia to top
World Cup Group F
By DAVE SKRETTA
AP Sports Writer
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) --- Brian Brobbey scored his third goal of the World Cup,
the Netherlands got a pair of goals that deflected off Tunisia into its own
net, and the Dutch rolled in the rain to a 3-1 victory Thursday night to
advance to the knockout stage as the winners of Group F.
The Netherlands began the day tied atop the group with Japan. But when the
Samurai Blue could only manage a 1-1 draw with Sweden in Arlington, Texas, it
left Virgil van Dijk and his teammates looking forward to a matchup with Group
C runner-up Morocco on Monday --- and Japan with the heavy task of playing
powerhouse Brazil in the Round of 32.
Tunisia, which sacked its coach after a loss to open the World Cup, had already
been eliminated from the tournament.
The opening minutes summed up the last couple of weeks for the Eagles of
Carthage: Denzel Dumfries sent a ball across the front of the goal, Tunisian
captain Ellys Skhiri slapped at with his foot in an attempt to clear, and he
found the back of his own net instead.
Brobbey made it 2-0 in the seventh minute, after the Dutch had earned a free
kick from about 25 yards. The 6-foot-5 van Dijk expertly headed it across the
box, and Brobbey was in perfect position to chip the ball past Tunisian
goalkeeper Aymen Dahmen.
Tunisia finally scored in the 54th minute, when Hazem Mastouri redirected a
corner kick into the net, but the Netherlands answered in the 62nd, when Jan
Paul van Hecke's header off a corner glanced off Anis Slimane's head and into
his own net.
The Netherlands controlled the game from there as a first-half drizzle turned
into a second-half downpour.
The threat of thunderstorms had persisted all the week, and lightning briefly
delayed the completion of the "Oranje fanwalk" to the game. But once they were
given the all-clear, the Dutch fans clad in their highlighter-orange shirts
poured down the aisles and into Arrowhead Stadium, making it look like deer
hunting season in the Midwest.
The Netherlands is certainly big-game hunting in this World Cup.
The nation of Johan Cruyff and Marco van Basten has long held the moniker of
best never to have won the tournament. Three times the Dutch have advanced to
the finals and each time they have lost, most recently to Spain in extra time
in 2010.
They got off to a lackluster start this go-round, too, tying Japan 2-2 in their
opener. But with two goals apiece from Brobby and Cody Gakpo, the Netherlands
routed Sweden 5-1, and it now has some momentum heading into the knockout stage.
Tunisia seemed quite content just to finish a disastrous World Cup.
The Eagles of Carthage opened with a 5-1 loss to Sweden, which led to coach
Sabri Lamouchi's firing. French coach Herve Renard took over amid reports of
tension and infighting within the team, and little seemed to have changed in a
4-0 loss to Japan last week.
Thursday's loss ran Tunisia's winless streak to six matches.
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See more of AP's World Cup coverage here.
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