LOUIS VAN GAAL gave Denzel Dumfries a big kiss on the cheek in his post-match press conference as he celebrated Holland reaching the last eight of the World Cup.
Man of the match Dumfries was sat next to Van Gaal while facing the media after Holland’s 3-1 win over USA in which he scored one and assisted two.
And Van Gaal said: “Denzel knows that the day before yesterday I gave him a big fat kiss, I am going to give him another…there you can see.”
But the Dutch head coach also admitted he was not in such a good mood at half-time in this game despite leading 2-0.
He said: “I was very critical at half time in my analysis as usual despite that we were leading 2-0.
“I think they were fantastic goals and there was a beauty and team spirit to one of these goals because it was a real team goal.
“However in the first half we suffered so much, we were dispossessed so often and it is not necessary,
“That is not acceptable in a World Cup if you play top countries.
“In the second half we made a much better job of it even though we scored fewer goals.
“So we are very very pleased and it gives us a lot of confidence. The players were really pleased.”
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Holland were ahead when Memphis Depay ended a 20 pass move with the opener after 10 minutes.
Daley Blind added the second in first half injury time before Haji Wright got one back for the US on 76 minutes, but Dumfries made it safe in the 81st.
A player named after American actor Denzel Washington taking that country’s team down.
Denzel said: “I don’t have a connection with the USA but yes I was named after Denzel Washington and my parents gave me that name and I am incredibly proud of that as Denzel Washington is a strong personality who gives his views on issues.”
As does Van Gaal who is now even more confident his team can go on and lift the World Cup, despite criticism of his style from the Dutch media
He said: “I know the media don’t always report in a positive way, that is a given but top countries didn’t progress and we still have three matches to go.’
“I have been talking for a year that we can become world champions, not that we will but we can. I am talking about team building and I derive pleasure from the group of players and performance and results.”
Van Gaal said that the USA helped his Dutch side by not adapting their tactics to combat them.
He said: “I would assume the stronger the country is, the less they will be adjusting.
“Team USA didn’t adjust or adapt and we based a tactical plan on that and that probably allowed us to win. But I don’t expect France, Argentina or Spain is going to adapt to the Netherlands. I think we have big chances here.”
US manager Gregg Berhalter looked a devastated figure as he assessed the game.
He said: “This is a tough one to swallow for us.
“The guys put in everything they had. They are such a good group of guys, so close knit. You want more for them and we came up short.
“The game is about moments and the first half is a good indication. We were on top for a lot and two moments come and we are down 2-0.
“Soccer can be cruel sometimes, we came back and then gave up a goal soon after.
“It’s tough but overall extremely proud of how they handled themselves. We set out with a goal to show the rest of the world we can play soccer and we partially achieved that though we fell short of our goals.”
