Dutch player Cody Gakpo (third from left) celebrates a goal with a teammate during a match on November 21. Photo by Xu Zijian, a reporter from Xinhua News Agency
Doha, 21 Nov (Xinhua) -- In Group A of the Qatar World Cup held on 21 November, the Netherlands team of the "Orange-clad Army" defeated Senegal, the champion of the African Cup, with two goals after 80 minutes.
Senegal made its World Cup debut in 2002, when the new "Lions of Tranga" beat France in the opener and made it all the way to the quarterfinals. The team is considered to have a better squad than 20 years ago for the World Cup in Qatar, but the withdrawal of star Mane due to injury has weakened the team a lot. Against the African powerhouse, Dutch coach Louis van Gaal started with a more conservative line-up of 532.
In the opening game, Senegal completed the tackle and formed a counter-attack, but the shot was blocked by the defender. The Netherlands' best chance of the first half came in the 18th minute when Boguis's pass found Frenkie de Jong in the box, but the latter beautifully dunked a defender and did not shoot, but continued to try, and finally the good chance was destroyed by the opponent.
Dutch player Koopmenas (left) fights Senegal's Pape Cisse during a match on November 21. Photo by Xu Zijian, a reporter from Xinhua News Agency
After 45 minutes of probing, the Dutch team stepped up their attack in the second half, but the "weak front" made the Dutch attack fruitless. Louis van Gaal made an adjustment in the 62nd minute when the team's "top scorer" Depay was featured in the World Cup qualifiers. Senegal instead played a wave of climax, creating several threatening attacks, with shots from Gueye and Ismaila Saar breaking out of the Dutchman's cold sweat.
Dutch player Cody Gakpo celebrates a goal during a match on November 21. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Jia Haocheng
Late in the game, the Netherlands played more patiently. In the 84th minute, Gakpo received a cross from Frenkie de Jong and a header broke the deadlock to give the Netherlands a 1-0 lead. Trailing Senegal, pressed hard, but in the seconds before the end of the race, the Dutchman once again seized on the hole. Depay's shot was saved by goalkeeper Mendy, and Klassen followed up with a follow-up shot to make it 2-0.
Dutch player David Klassen (left) scores in a match on November 21. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Ding Xu
In the next match, the Netherlands will face Ecuador, who have three points, while Senegal will meet hosts Qatar.