'I’m going to give him another big fat kiss' - Van Gaal toasts impact of Denzel Dumfries 

SEALED WITH A KISS: Head coach Louis van Gaal planted one on Denzel Dumfries in his post-match press conference. Pic: AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi

Louis van Gaal toasted progress to the last eight of the World Cup with a kiss — and then again insisted his side can win it all in Qatar.

The Netherlands manager planted one on Denzel Dumfries in his post-match press conference after seeing the wingback set up two and then score a beautiful third to see off a very brief US fightback at Khalifa Stadium.

The 3-1 win ensured that the Dutch remain one of just four undefeated sides at the tournament as the manager’s own remarkable unbeaten run continues. He has yet to taste defeat since he returned the helm of the national team last August — a stretch of 19 games. And if this one ended up being one of the easier ones, that didn’t stop him celebrating progress in his own unique way.

“Denzel knows very well how [I feel about him],” said Van Gaal. “

Yesterday or the day before I gave him a big fat kiss. I’m going to give him another big fat kiss.” 

With that, he leaned over and kissed the Inter Milan man on the head.

Goals from Memphis Depay, Daley Blind and Dumfries were more than enough to see off a US side that looked much more limited here than in their group games. Van Gaal’s tactical nous outdid his US counterpart Gregg Berhalter who saw his side’s pace negated and their defence shown to be lacking.

Still, there was criticism from pundits at home with both Rafael van den Vaart and Marco van Basten echoing calls in the Dutch press for Van Gaal to adopt a more attacking, fluid approach. The 71-year-old sounded like a man who was happy to again put the pundits in their place.

“I get enough appreciation from the people around me,” said Van Gaal. “I know the media don’t always report in a positive way, that’s always a given in football. A lot of top countries didn’t progress and we still have three matches to go. I’ve been talking about this for a year: we can become world champion. I’m talking about a team building.

“I was very critical at halftime in my analysis that I shared with my players as usual. Despite the lead we were in, with fantastic goals of beauty and team spirit. In the first-half we were dispossessed so often and it was unnecessary. That’s simply not acceptable at a World Cup.” 

Dumfries was named man of the match. The Budweiser-sponsored award finally going to the most deserving player. The 26-year-old was terrific throughout, putting the finish on the win with his fifth goal in 40 Dutch caps.

“Today we showed the quality of the system,” said Dumfries. 

“We can enjoy tonight. In Holland we are sued to having the ball, this is a different way of playing. [With] the first goal you could see all the facets of how we play. It was a fantastic team goal. This is where you see the core of the system being executed.”