Netherlands 2-1 Uzbekistan Player Ratings: Cody Gakpo Scores Two Penalties As Uzbekistan Lose In A Dramatic Fashion After Grabbing Equalizer

The Netherlands took the field to face Uzbekistan in their second international friendly ahead of the World Cup, following a surprise upset against Algeria in their previous game. The match at the Icahn Stadium in New York was fairly dominated by Ronald Koeman's side, who showed once again why they are a force to be reckoned with.

The Oranje were the better of the two teams, maintaining 65% possession and xG of 2.16 with six shots taken. The Uzbekistan national football team didn't get to see much of the ball, but they bagged five shots too, which was quite impressive for a side that will be playing in their first-ever World Cup.

Shots from Donyell Malen, Ryan Gravenberch, and Tijjani Reijnders did little to make life difficult for Utkir Yusupov in Uzbekistan's goal. It was not until the 32nd minute that the Netherlands national football team got their best chance to score a goal, as Crysencio Summerville was brought down in the penalty area by Jakhongir Urozov, resulting in a spot kick.

Cody Gakpo scored from the spot, right down the middle. Although Yusupov had judged it correctly and even got a hand to it, the power of the ball was too hard to palm away. Malen appealed for a penalty shortly after, but VAR ruled it out after reviewing that the AS Roma star lost his footing rather than being unfairly challenged by an opponent.

The second half saw the repetition of the same, where the Dutch dominated mostly while the Uzbeks tried to catch them off guard. Uzbekistan fought their way back into the game when Guus Til handled the ball in the penalty area.

A VAR check confirmed the incident, and the midfielder, who was just substituted in the game, was given his marching orders. However, it wasn't a penalty as the handball happened just outside the box.

Uzbekistan seemed to have gotten a fresh breath of air after the red card and capitalized on it perfectly as Igor Sergeev equalized in the dying minutes of the game. Just when the game was set to go for a draw, Van Hecke was pulled in the box during a corner by Abdukodir Khusanov, and the referee pointed to the spot swiftly.

Gakpo stepped up again, putting it in the back of the net to end the game on a highly dramatic note. Although they might have won, Ronald Koeman will be seriously thinking about improving several areas before playing the first match in the World Cup.

Check out the Netherlands vs Uzbekistan Player Ratings below.

Key Takeaways

• Cody Gakpo bagged his 20th and 21st goals in his 50th appearance for the Netherlands.
• Jan Paul van Hecke completed the most passes in this game (4).
• Ryan Gravenberch won the most duels (6).

Netherlands National Football Team Player Ratings vs Uzbekistan

Here are the Netherlands national football team player ratings from Netherlands vs Uzbekistan Player Ratings.

Uzbekistan National Football Team Player Ratings vs Netherlands

Have a look at the Uzbekistan national football team player ratings from Netherlands vs Uzbekistan Player Ratings.

Man of the Match

Cody Gakpo was adjudged Sportsdunia's man of the match from Netherlands vs Uzbekistan.

Worst Performer

Guus Til was the worst performer in this international friendly.