Cody Gakpo scores late as Netherlands scrape past Uzbekistan before World Cup start

Despite the low-key atmosphere at Icahn Stadium, Ronald Koeman's side created several chances throughout the game and eventually found a way to secure the win ahead of their opening World Cup fixture against Japan.

The Dutch started brightly but struggled to turn possession into goals. Donyell Malen missed an early opportunity from a Gakpo cross, while Tijjani Reijnders and Ryan Gravenberch also failed to test the Uzbekistan goal.

The breakthrough finally arrived just after the hour mark. Crysencio Summerville burst into the penalty area and was brought down by Jakhongir Urozov, allowing Gakpo to step up and convert from the spot. Uzbekistan goalkeeper Utkir Yusupov got a hand to the effort but could not keep it out.

The Netherlands looked capable of extending their lead, with Summerville, Virgil van Dijk and Gakpo all going close. However, Koeman's men were dealt a setback when goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen was forced off after failing to recover from an earlier collision.

The match then turned on a controversial moment when substitute Guus Til was shown a red card for handball. The dismissal left the Dutch with ten men and gave Uzbekistan renewed belief.

That belief was rewarded late on when Igor Sergeev poked home an equaliser, seemingly earning Uzbekistan a valuable draw.

But there was one final twist. Deep into stoppage time, defender Abdukodir Khusanov pulled down Jan Paul van Hecke inside the box. Gakpo remained calm under pressure and fired home his second penalty of the night to seal victory.

After the match, Koeman praised his team's ability to create chances but stressed the need to be more clinical in front of goal.

"I think strikers always want to score," Koeman said. "We hope to continue creating chances. Creating one chance is good, but scoring two goals is, of course, even more important. Otherwise, you cannot win many matches."

The Dutch coach admitted he was less frustrated than after the recent defeat to Algeria.

"Right now, I am not that disappointed. I was more upset after the game against Algeria because we created so many good chances in the first half of that match," he said.

Koeman also criticised the decision to send off Til, insisting the incident changed the course of the game.

"This time, we hardly gave anything away until the red card. But the red card incident was a completely incomprehensible situation," he said.

"Tell me, how can you give a player a red card in a situation where there was no deliberate handball? If the level of refereeing is like this at the World Cup, we will see many laughable incidents."

The Netherlands will now travel to their World Cup base in Kansas City before opening their Group F campaign against Japan in Dallas on Sunday. Uzbekistan, preparing for their first-ever World Cup appearance, will begin their Group K journey against Colombia in Mexico City on June 18.