Netherlands v/s Uzbekistan: Oranjes managed to get a win at the last minutes of the game to save face from a humiliating draw

The match, which was initially meant to prepare the Netherlands for their World Cup appearance, turned out to be a source of a humbling experience for the team on Monday night. With an organised and very disciplined Uzbekistan side at Icahn Stadium, Ronald Koeman’s Oranje needed to wait until the 97th minute for a penalty from Cody Gakpo to emerge victorious 2-1.

Even though the scoreline seems favourable for the Dutch side, there were a lot of things that raised red flags just before their appearance at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

From the opening whistle, the tactical narrative was clear: the Netherlands would dominate possession for the majority of the game, whereas Uzbekistan would sit back and be content with being defensively solid. Despite fielding an elite attacking lineup, the Dutch build-up play was lethargic.

The game-breaking moment would arrive in the 31st minute. The young attacker Crysencio Summerville was fouled by Uzbek defender Jakhongir Urozov inside the box. Gakpo made no mistake and scored the penalty kick to make it 1-0 for the Netherlands.

However, as the second period wore on, the fans in New York became ever more impatient. The Asian minnows understood that they were capable of not only defending but also of mounting some potentially lethal counter-attacks as well.

This game took a dramatic turn against the Oranjes after midfielder Guus Til was shown a straight red card in the 86th minute, reducing the Netherlands to 10 men. Sensing their opportunity, the team from Uzbekistan came up to the attack and rewarded themselves in stoppage time. Deep into stoppage time (90+2') , substitute Igor Sergeev scored a spectacular equaliser.

Feeling a public relations nightmare looming large, the 10-men from the Dutch side threw caution to the wind, going for broke. In the final moments of stoppage time (90+7'), the Dutch received another penalty kick. Gakpo continued to show his poise and converted yet another penalty goal, securing victory 2-1.

Sportscape believes that even though a victory is always a victory, the analysis after the game will show that Koeman’s side did poorly. Uzbekistan should be congratulated for delivering a near-flawless defensive performance and for pushing the Dutch right up until the end of the match. Given that the Oranje have such difficulty breaking down a team competing at its first-ever FIFA World Cup, their ambitions of going far in the tournament appear rather fragile.