Netherlands look to deepen Qatar’s woes

Netherlands play Qatar at the World Cup in Al Khor on Tuesday needing a win or a draw to qualify to the last 16 for the 11th time regardless of the result between Senegal and Ecuador. Meanwhile Qatar, who prematurely exited their own party following underwhelming performances in their opening two Group A games face further humiliation in what will be the first meeting between the two sides.

Qatar's coach Felix Sanchez said he would not change a thing if he were to go back in time to before the start of the World Cup.

"If I go back in time? It's easy to talk about things after it's over," Sanchez told a news conference. "I think we have prepared in the best possible way, but everything has to be considered in perspective, we have been working with this group for a long time. "

"If we continue to work on a daily basis, I think we can reduce the gap with the other teams and achieve something," Sanchez opined.

Netherlands coach Louis van Gaal said he thinks Cody Gakpo will "evolve much further" after the youngster's two crucial goals at the World Cup.

"I had more or less expected that he would evolve this way but I believe that he's going to evolve even further, much further, so I'm not surprised (by his performances) at all," Van Gaal told a pre-match press conference in Qatar.

"It's marvellous that he can do this on the world stage." The Oranje need only to avoid defeat against already-eliminated hosts Qatar on Tuesday to be sure of a place in the knockout phase.

If Netherlands lose they will qualify directly to the second round if Ecuador beat Senegal, but if Senegal win the goal difference or fairplay tiebreaker will decide second place in the group.