Whenever two nations clash in a major international sporting competition, there are always interesting story lines that transcend sport. Or in this case, something extremely unique to both countries.
You can call the United States of America vs Netherlands World Cup Round of 16 clash the Financial Market Crisis/Economic Collapse Cup. Because you have Tulip Mania 1634-7 vs the Stock Market Crash of 1929 and 2008 Housing Bubble. That’s all probably beyond the scope of this article, so let’s just get to the match preview.
World Cup Round of 16 FYIs
Kickoff: 1pm CST, Sat Dec 3, Khalifa International Stadium
USMNT Starting XI Prediction: go here
Transatlantic Passage: How the Premier League Redefined Soccer in America: LINK
World Cup Preview Segments: WGN Radio NTD News Insert Name FC
Google Result (90 Min) Probability Netherlands win 52% Draw 27% USMNT win 21%
Current FIFA world ranking: Netherlands 8, USMNT 16
USMNT Team News
Captain America Christian Pulisic took a nasty shot to the groin area in the win over Iran, and he missed the entire second half. His injury is being classified as a “pelvic contusion,” and that sounds pretty painful, to the say the least.
Pulisic posted on social media, from a hospital bed no less, his belief he’ll be ready to play in this one.
Josh Sargent, battling an ankle knock, should be okay to, but there were some initial scares with him. Weston McKennie has not played a full 90 minutes at this World Cup, as he continues to battle a nagging quad problem. We think he’ll battle through it and play on.
USMNT Coach Gregg Berhalter might provide some insights on Thursday or Friday.
Know Your Enemy: “The Iron Tulip” Louis van Gaal
The Dutch national team manager, Louis van Gaal is nicknamed The Iron Tulip due to his hard line, tough love coaching style. There is more to him than that though, he has very strange hair, and he loves wine, even toasting the vino with the media at his press conference during the holiday season when he was Manchester United’s manager.
One of my all-time favorite moments covering the beautiful game came in 2015, when he was managing United, and they played Paris Saint-Germain in a summer friendly in Chicago.
A reporter stated his name and affiliation, and the outlets was based in Kurdistan.
Van Gaal interrupted to say “he (Angel Di Maria, in the midst of transferring from LVG’s club to their opponents that night) is not going to Kurdistan.”
This man is a trip.
Know Your Enemy II: Key Dutch Players
Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool), Nathan Ake (Manchester City), Jurrien Timber (Ajax), Matthijs de Ligt (Bayern Munich), Frenkie de Jong (FC Barcelona) Cody Gakpo (PSV Eindhoven)
Paul M. Banks is the Owner/Manager of The Sports Bank and author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” as well as “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He has regularly contributed to WGN News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune, and he co-hosts the After Extra Time podcast. Follow him and the website on Twitter and Instagram.