Netherlands 2 – 0 Qatar

Netherlands eased into the last 16 of the World Cup as they clinched top spot in Group A with a 2-0 win over Qatar.

Cody Gakpo opened the scoring midway through the first half with his third goal of the tournament, while Frenkie de Jong added a second shortly after half-time.

Louis van Gaal’s side head into the knockout stages, where they will next face the runner-up in Group B – which at this stage could be any one of England, Iran, USA or Wales.

As a result, Qatar become the first hosts in World Cup history to fail to pick up a win or even a point.

Gakpo stars again as Netherlands top Group A

There was no doubt who had been the star of the tournament for the Netherlands so far, and Gakpo struck again on 26 minutes to give his side the lead.

In the opener against Senegal he had scored with his head, against Ecuador he netted with his left, and against Qatar he completed his perfect hat-trick with a right-footed drive from just inside the area.

After 49 minutes it was two. Davy Klaassen’s cross came off a defender’s head and found Memphis Depay at the far post. His effort from close range was saved, but it fell kindly for De Jong to prod into an empty net from just a few yards.

Netherlands thought they had a third on 68 minutes as Steven Berghuis tapped home from close range just a few minutes after coming on as a substitute, but VAR ruled the goal out for a handball by Gakpo in the buildup.

But it didn’t cost them, as they prepare to turn their eyes to the evening’s Group B games to find out who their opponents in the last 16 will be.

What does the result mean?

Netherlands head into the last 16 as group winners, where they will face the runner-up in Group B. They are joined by Senegal who beat Ecuador 2-1 in the other Group A game.

Qatar become the first side in World Cup history to fail to win a game as hosts.

Player of the match – Cody Gakpo

Sky Sports’ Sam Blitz:

“Header, left foot, right foot. Cody Gakpo is having the perfect tournament.

“The Dutch forward has three goals in three consecutive World Cup matches and is the main reason why the Netherlands have cruised through to the knockout stages as group winners.

“It’s not just the range of the three separate goals that make him such a great talent at 23-years-old. He plays out wide for his club and centre forward for his country. He can be a penalty box presence but, as his goal against Qatar showed, he can come from deep and play further back if required.

“Tenacious, aggressive but blessed with flair, the forward joins Kylian Mbappe at the top of the World Cup Golden Boot standings. It’s excellent company, considering this is first World Cup.

“He shows he has the full package – and maybe this World Cup, like Mbappe and James Rodriguez before did before him, is becoming his own.

“It won’t be long until one of the superclubs takes him off PSV Eindhoven’s hands – it could possibly happen in the January window.”

Qatar bow out in disappointment

Already out of the tournament after two games, Tuesday night was a chance for the host nation to avoid some unwanted World Cup history against the Netherlands.

Unfortunately, they failed to do so. They became the first hosts to not pick up a single win or a even a point in the group stage, while they also became the first ever individual host nation to lose three matches at a single World Cup tournament.

They also conceded seven goals, the outright most ever by a single host nation in the same group round of an edition of the tournament.