Van Gaal described Saturday's opponents as very strong, while
reporters from neighbouring Belgium made overtures for the
combative coach to take over their national team after Roberto
Martinez stepped down following Belgium's exit on Thursday.
"You've got to convince my wife," he told the Belgians, which
prompted a follow-up question from an African reporter about
whether or not he would be prepared to move there.
"I don't think so but you've got to keep your options open," Van
Gaal joked, before getting back to the business in hand.
"The USA has demonstrated that it has an excellent team, I would
even say one of the best teams, a team that is fine-tuned (but)
it's nothing we can't overcome," Van Gaal added ahead of the
game at the Khalifa International Stadium.
"The USA that is a very energetic squad, they have physically
strong players and that is tough for any opponent, and you can
tell from their results, but we will do everything we can to win
and to beat USA, that's it."
The Dutch made it through by winning Group A with Senegal
joining them in the last 16 as runners-up, but Van Gaal's side
have failed to impress so far, with the exception of forward
Cody Gakpo, who netted three goals in their three group games.
As the Netherlands coach has done throughout the tournament, Van
Gaal rejected criticism of his side's performances.
"In principle I would say that we started off with a squad with
lots of people who were not match fit, they've all been given
the opportunity to play and we went through the group stage
quite smoothly," he said.
Striker Memphis Depay, who netted 12 goals in qualifying for the
Dutch, has said his recent injury problems are behind him and
that he would prefer to play alongside Steven Bergwijn with
Gakpo as the playmaker, but Van Gaal quickly shot that down.
"These things happen, that players ventilate their views, but
whether it's sensible or not, that's another issue. Everybody
has their own opinion, particularly in the Netherlands," the
71-year-old said.
The winners of Saturday's game will advance to a quarter-final
meeting with either Argentina or Australia on Dec. 9.
(Reporting by Philip O'connor; Editing by Ken Ferris)
[© 2022 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content. |
|