The passing stats from Holland's perspective show a team that dominated the Uruguayans when the game was on the line:
| Mins | Pass F | Wgtd | Pass A | Wgtd | % Pass | % Wtd | |
| Tied | 48.8 | 516 | 100 | 234 | 47 | 69 | 68 |
| Up 1 | 29.5 | 177 | 39 | 284 | 59 | 38 | 40 |
| Up 2 | 18.5 | 311 | 71 | 350 | 65 | 47 | 52 |
Holland is better than Uruguay, but not so much better that they could afford to not back off when they had the lead – Uruguay controlled possession when they were trailing by 1.
It's instructive to look at each team's performance while tied and compare it to how they did in previous games. First, Holland:
| Hol | Mins | Pass F | Wgtd | Pass A | Wgtd | % Pass | % Wtd |
| vs Uru | 48.8 | 516 | 100 | 234 | 47 | 69 | 68 |
| Prev. | 194 | 508 | 95 | 289 | 56 | 64 | 63 |
The Dutch were reasonably dominant so far, but reached a new level against the Uruguayans. If they face Germany, I think they'll be substantially underrated. As for Uruguay, they stunk up the joint:
| Uru | Mins | Pass F | Wgtd | Pass A | Wgtd | % Pass | % Wtd |
| vs Hol | 48.8 | 234 | 47 | 516 | 100 | 31 | 32 |
| Prev. | 300.3 | 222 | 49 | 340 | 76 | 39 | 39 |
Uruguay had not favored ball possession thus far, but this represents a new low. Controlling just 32% of passing and territory is simply not going to win you very many games.
