Senegal vs Netherlands: Mane-less Senegal battle dangerous Dutch
AFCON Champions Senegal go head to head with European giants the Netherlands at the Al Thumama Stadium as the two remaining sides in group A kick off their Qatar World Cup campaigns.
The big news for Senegal is the absence of star man, and AFCON player of the tournament earlier this year, Sadio Mané. The forward has been ruled out of the entire competition with a leg injury.
The absence of Mané may open up a space for Watford’s Ismaïla Sarr in Senegal’s attack. The winger has scored six goals and contributed four assists in the opening 17 games of the Championship this season.
For the Netherlands, it is a chance to prove themselves on the world’s biggest footballing stage for the first time in eight years, having failed to qualify for the Russia World Cup in 2018.
Netherlands captain Virgil Van Dijk is set to make his first ever appearance at a World Cup, and has said he expects Senegal to be his side’s toughest opponents in the group.
Managed by former Manchester United coach Louis Van Gaal, ‘Oranje’ topped their qualification group, winning seven out of ten fixtures. They are unbeaten in their last fifteen games, including impressive wins against Belgium and Poland.
The Dutch team hold an unfortunate record of being the team that has made it to the final of the World Cup the most times without ever winning the competition (Three times – 1974, 1978, 2010).
Senegal on the other hand, have only appeared in the tournament twice before. Current manager, Aliou Cissé, captained the African side to the quarter finals in 2002, even beating defending champions France 1-0 in their opening group game.
The Lions of Teranga won five out of six qualifying games, and beat Egypt on penalties to reach the tournament.
Chelsea duo Édouard Mendy and Kalidou Koulibaly will look to ensure Senegal remain defensively solid.
After hosts Qatar were easily brushed aside by Ecuador, who won 2-0, this game could be a decider of who comes out on top of the group – Senegal and the Netherlands are both favourites to go through. Expect this to be a tough game, with both sides desperate to open their Qatar World Cup campaigns with a win.
The game kicks off at 16:00 GMT on 21/11/22.
