Senegal, the first African nation and winner of the CAN 2022, entered the Qatar 2022 World Cup competition on Monday 21 November. Against the Dutch, Aliou Cissé’s charges conceded two goals without scoring a single one.
2 goals to zero. This was the score of the match between Senegal and the Netherlands on Monday 21 November 2022. This first outing of the Lions of Teranga, which ended in failure, however, presaged a balanced match that could have ended in a draw.
A match yet assured
Both in the first and second half, the Senegalese gave their best during the match. The desire to win the match or, failing that, to draw against the opponent, revived everyone’s spirits. Numerous attempts to score in the Netherlands were in vain. But everything changed in the second half when the Lions let their guard down when all they needed was a few minutes to get a point.
Mendy’s bad exits
Best goalkeeper 2022 and member of one of the great clubs of England, FC Chelsea, Edouard Mendy has performed on very bad outings. In his experience, such mistakes should not occur. In the 84th minute of the game, the Dutchman Cody Gakpo headed the ball past the Senegalese goalkeeper, who came with the intention of punching it out. Unfortunately, this action cost Senegal the first goal.
The defence is out of breath
As the game approached three minutes of the eight minutes of stoppage time, Senegal’s defence became totally porous and unorganised. This gave the Dutch player Davy Klaassen the opportunity to quickly put the ball in the back of the Senegalese net with a beautiful curled shot. This second goal crucifies Senegal, who are currently performing poorly like Qatar against Ecuador.
Sadio Mané greatly missed
Sadio Mané’s absence from the World Cup due to injury was a huge blow. There is no doubt that he is the great leader of the Senegalese team and that his presence would surely have changed the situation.
To give themselves a better chance of not being knocked out of the competition, Senegal must do their utmost to win their next opponent, Qatar. The match will take place on Friday 25 November 2022.
It should be noted that Tunisia, the second African country present in Qatar, plays its first match on Tuesday 22 November against Denmark at 2pm.
