USMNT defeats Netherlands 4-3 with stunning comeback in international friendly

AMSTERDAM (Via U.S. Soccer) – The U.S. Men’s National Team completed an astonishing second-half comeback in the last two minutes of the game to defeat No.6-ranked Netherlands 4-3 at Amsterdam Arena for the first time in five meetings between the two teams.

Danny Williams equalized in the 88th minute and Bobby Wood notched the game-winner in the 90th to complete the stirring comeback. Gyasi Zardes began the scoring for the U.S. in the first half and John Brooks’ goal mid-way through the second frame set the stage. The four goals mark the first time the U.S. has scored more than one goal against the Dutch in a match.

For Zardes, Williams and Wood, the goals were the first of their international careers, while Brooks’ strike was his first since his momentous game-winner against Ghana at the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.

Next, the U.S. MNT face 2014 FIFA World Cup champion and No.1-ranked Germany in Cologne on June 10.

Goal Scoring Rundown:
NED – Klass-Jan Huntelaar (Memphis Depay), 27th minute: From the left side, Memphis Depay played the ball past Gyasi Zardes to send a cross to Klass-Jan Huntelaar, who escaped both Ventura Alvarado and John Brooks to head the ball into the back of the net from six yards out. USA 0, NED 1 ( SEE GOAL)

USA – Gyasi Zardes (Fabian Johnson), 33rd minute: Aaron Johannsson passed the ball outside of the Netherlands box to Fabian Johnson, who was looming on the upper right side corner. Johnson controlled the pass and sent a cross to the far post where Gyasi Zardes awaited. Calm and collected, Zardes gave the ball a great touch with his right foot, tipping it in from a sharp angle inside the near post past the Dutch goalkeeper to even matters before half. USA 1, NED 1 ( SEE GOAL)

NED – Klaas-Jan Huntelaar (Gregory Van der Wiel), 49th minute: Second half sub Van der Wiel outpaced his marker before sending a long cross toward Huntelaar. The Dutch striker outjumped his defender and once again headed it home for his second of the game. USA 1, NED 2

NED – Memphis Depay (Klaas-Jan Huntelaar), 53rd minute: Huntelaar drove a shot from 15 yards out that deflected off Depay and past Guzan towards the far post where it banked in off the woodwork into the opposite corner. USA 1, NED 3

USA – John Brooks (DeAndre Yedlin), 70th minute: Michael Bradley came running into the right side of the box where he found DeAndre Yedlin. Yedlin gave the ball a single touch before crossing it to the middle where John Brooks used the inside of his left foot to guide a shot inside the near post for his second career MNT strike. USA 2, NED 3 (SEE GOAL)

USA – Danny Williams, 88th minute: Following a corner from Michael Bradley that sent the ball to the middle of the box, Netherlands’ Lukk De Jong headed it clear to the top of the box. Danny Williams was waiting above the half circle to collect the short clearance and took a shot with his right foot that deflected off Dutch forward Luuk de Jong to tie the game. USA 3, NED 3 (SEE GOAL )

USA – Bobby Wood (Jordan Morris), 90th minute: Michael Bradley gained possession of the ball after a defensive recovery and ran it through the midfield into attacking territory. Bradley found a patient Jordan Morris on the right side and sent him a pass that he smartly crossed to Bobby Wood, who tapped it in with the inside of his right foot for the game-winner in the last-minute. USA 4, NED 3 (FINAL) ( SEE GOAL)

Key Saves and Defensive Stops:
USA – Brad Guzan, 3rd minute: Robin Van Persie scooted into the box after a bit of miscommunication from the USA defense. His attempt was blocked by Brad Guzan and despite another Netherlands player getting the rebound to try again, the USA No. 1 was prepared and corralled the ball to keep the U.S. out of trouble.

NED – Jasper Cillessen, 15th minute: In the clearest scoring opportunity for the USA until that point, Michael Bradley served a corner kick into the box, where it bounced around before finding Gyasi Zardes. He fired a bullet from eight yards away toward the net but Dutch goalkeeper Jasper Cillessen was ready and made a point-blank save to deny the goal.

NED – Jasper Cillessen, 22nd minute: Brek Shea had a fantastic run on the left flank after a midfield pass from Michael Bradley, and got himself into position to face Cillessen one-on-one. Shea’s shot from about five yards out went straight into Cillessen’s legs, which ricocheted the ball out and avoided any further attacking chance from the USA.

USA – Kyle Beckerman, 39th minute: Netherlands had a clear shot at a goal during a scramble inside the USA box, when Kyle Beckerman tracked back to make a vital interception before kicking the ball out of play, allowing the U.S. to reset.

USA – Brad Guzan and Kyle Beckerman, 47th minute: Robin Van Persie volleyed over John Brooks to head toward the net, but Guzan had a quick reaction and blocked the attempt. Van Persie tried again but this time it was Beckerman who cleared it off the line.

NED – Jasper Cillessen, 64th minute: Gyasi Zardes had a free path into the goal, sending a shot with his left foot towards the far post. Cillessen wasn’t caught off guard and stepped up to make the block with his left leg.

USA – Fabian Johnson, 83rd minute : Netherlands got inside the box and past Brad Guzan. Fabian Johnson came from behind and cleared the ball off of the missed attempt from the Dutch player, getting some help from the post to send it out of bounds.

USA – Brad Guzan, 90th minute: Luuk De Jong turned a ball goalward but Guzan expertly sprung across to keep the match tied. The follow up fell to De Jong once again but his second attempt hit the crossbar.

Milestone Watch:

Midfielder Michael Bradley is inching closer to the century cap mark. He now has 97 appearances since debuting for the MNT in 2006. He is in sole possession of 16th place on the MNT all-time list and is the only player on this roster that played against the Netherlands in 2010.
The goals from Gyasi Zardes, Danny Williams and Bobby Wood were their first goals with the MNT.

Next on the Schedule: The U.S. WNT travel to Germany, to play the 2014 FIFA World Cup Champion at RheinEnergiesSTADION in Cologne. Kickoff is set for 2:45 p.m. ET.
Broadcast information: FOX Sports 1, UniMas, UDN
Social: Twitter (@ussoccer; @ussoccer_esp); Facebook; Instagram

Additional Notes:

The United States is 1-4-0 all-time against Netherlands. The teams have played twice in the U.S. and now three times in Amsterdam. The Netherlands has outscored the U.S. 10-5 in the five-game series. Before today’s game, the USA had been outscored 7-1.
This was the first matchup between the teams during Jurgen Klinsmann’s tenure as head coach and the first victory for the USA against the European soccer power.
Brad Guzan made his first appearance since he played against Colombia on Nov. 14, 2014. It was his first start of 2015.
Guzan earned his 13th win with the MNT.
Ventura Alvarado, who made his first start for the USA the last time out against Mexico, made his second consecutive start for the USA tonight.
Midfielder Michael Bradley wore the captain’s armband for the fourth-straight match.
It was the second time since the World Cup game against Germany on June 26, 2014 that midfielders Bradley and Kyle Beckerman started together.
Bradley has played every minute of the USA’s six matches so far in 2015. The two other MNT players that have appeared in all six games in 2015 are Gyasi Zardes and DeAndre Yedlin.
Yedlin nabbed his first point of 2015 after providing the assist on Danny Williams’ goal late in the second half.
Williams, who scored the game-tying goal in today’s match, was the first new player that Klinsmann capped when he became the MNT head coach.
Eleven different players have scored for the USA in 2015: Juan Agudelo, Jozy Altidore, Bradley, John Brooks, Clint Dempsey, Johannsson, Jordan Morris, Brek Shea, Williams, Bobby Wood and Gyasi Zardes.
It was Wood’s second appearance of 2015. He was last on the field on Jan. 28 during the USA’s 3-2 loss to Chile.

– U.S. Men’s National Team Match Report –

Match: U.S. Men’s National Team vs. Netherlands
Date: June 5, 2015
Competition: International Friendly
Venue: Amsterdam Arena; Amsterdam, Netherlands
Kickoff: 2:30 p.m. ET (8:30 p.m. local)
Attendance: 46,000
Weather: 68 degrees; Indoor

Scoring Summary:   1          2          F
USA 1          3          4
NED 1          2          3

NED – Klaas Jan Huntelaar (Memphis Depay) 27th minute
USA – Gyasi Zardes (Fabian Johnson) 33
NED – Klaas Jan Huntelaar (Gregory Ven Der Wiel) 49
NED – Memphis Depay (Klaas Jan Huntelaar) 53
USA – John Brooks (DeAndre Yedlin) 70
USA – Danny Williams 88
USA – Bobby Wood (Jordan Morris) 90

Lineups:
USA: 1-Brad Guzan; 21-Timmy Chandler, 19-Ventura Alvarado (15-Michael Orozco, 46), 6-John Brooks, 11-Brek Shea (2-DeAndre Yedlin, 57); 4-Michael Bradley (capt.), 5-Kyle Beckerman (14-Danny Williams, 63), 7-Alfredo Morales (10-Mix Diskerud, 56); 23-Fabian Johnson, 9-Aron Johannsson (18-Bobby Wood, 65), 20-Gyasi Zardes (8-Jordan Morris, 80)
Subs Not Used : 3-Brad Evans, 12-Nick Rimando, 13-Juan Agudelo, 16-Miguel Ibarra
Head Coach: Jurgen Klinsmann

NED: 1-Jasper Cillessen; 2-Daryl Janmaat (12-Gregory Van Der Wiel, 46), 3-Jeffrey Bruma, 4-Bruno Martins Indi, 5-Daley Blind; 6-Jordy Clasie (24-Wesley Sneijder, 78), 7-Quincy Promes, 10-Robin Van Persie (capt.) (18-Davy Propper, 57), 11-Memphis Depay, 8-Georgino Wijnaldum; 9-Klaas Jan Huntelaar (19-Luuk De Jong, 78)
Subs Not Used: 13-Joel Veltman, 14-Karim Rekik, 15-Jetro Willems, 16-Stefan De Vrij, 17-Luciano Narsingh, 20-Tjaronn Chery, 21-Steven Berghuis, 23-Tim Krul
Head coach: Guus Hiddink

Stats Summary: USA / NED
Shots: 17 / 21
Shots on Goal: 11 / 10
Saves: 6 / 7
Corner Kicks: 3 / 3
Fouls: 3 / 8
Offside: 2 / 1

Misconduct Summary:
NED – Gregory Van Der Wiel (caution) 85th minute

Officials:
Referee: Martin Strömbergsson (SWE)
Assistant 1: Mathias Klasenius (SWE)
Assistant 2: Daniel Wärnmark (SWE)
4th Official: Richard Liesveld (NED)