In their World Cup encounter against each other in Group A, the Netherlands waited until the very end to snag a 2-0 win over Senegal. The game was high in industry but mainly lacked quality throughout its whole.
Although not every match can be a nail-biter with six goals scored, most fans undoubtedly had higher hopes for a match between two clubs rated in the top 20 that took place on Monday at Al Thumama Stadium in Doha.
Despite Ismaila Sarr firing in a stunning curling effort for Senegal in the 24th minute that was deflected wide, the Netherlands edged out a first half that was tightly matched and flowing. The Netherlands took the lead.
Cody Gakpo scored the game-winning goal in the 85th minute after the pace of the game dropped down considerably in the second half, which was mostly considered to be sluggish.
The goal was scored by the number 8, who did very well to beat the goalkeeper for Senegal, Edouard Mendy, to the appealing cross that was sent by the young prodigy from Barcelona, Frenkie de Jong.
Substitute After Mendy was unable to retrieve a shot in the ninth minute of stoppage time in the second half, Davy Klaassen added a second goal to the lead.
Although Senegal struggled without the presence of star striker Sadio Mane’s impact, Sarr excelled after being switched to the left side of the field in an effort to compensate for the loss of their injured talisman.
Even though the African champions had several chances, they were unable to score due to the excellent goalkeeping of Andries Noppert of the Netherlands, who was playing in his debut game for the national team. Noppert made a number of crucial saves throughout the match.
However, they agreed that the team’s performance as a whole left a lot to be desired, despite the fact that they were satisfied with the outcome.
A supporter named Ron Tubee, who was at the Al Thumama Stadium, was interviewed by Al Jazeera and said, “I thought it would be simple but it wasn’t.”
He went on to say that Senegal was an excellent team overall because of their speed, strength, and discipline.
Fellow Oranje enthusiast Peter Tobben agreed.
“There were not many opportunities that were obvious… It was a really tight match, and Senegal did not deserve to come out on the losing end. Tobben told Al Jazeera that the performance of our team throughout the first half was sluggish.
After missing out on the 2018 event in Russia due to visa issues, high hopes were placed on the Dutch team’s performance in this competition.
After prevailing in what may be their toughest pre-knockout phase challenge yet, they are in excellent position to emerge victorious from a group that also includes the hosts of the competition, Qatar, as well as a team from Ecuador in South America.
The team’s captain, Virgil Van Dijk, said that there is a significant amount of space for growth as the competition continues.
Van Dijk recently gave an interview to the Dutch broadcasting company NOS in which he said, “We won, but we also know that we can and must do better.”