In the 84th minute, the Netherlands scored by rookie Gak Bo Head.
2-0, the Netherlands won the African champions Senegal to win seven consecutive World Cup group stage wins and remain unbeaten in nine consecutive World Cup openers.
But the whole game was boring, and after more than 80 minutes of fighting Senegal, they just relied on patience to wait for the opportunity before the end, and the Dutch team became increasingly unrecognizable.
Klassen (left) and De Jong celebrate the goal.
Miss the glory of the past
Goalkeeper Nopert, who played for the national team for the first time and was worth only €2 million in Transfer Market, scored a game-high eight points from SofaScore, and the tallest player in the World Cup (2.03m) made four saves, which was a big telling story.
It wasn't until the 84th minute that the Netherlands scored with a header from rookie Gak, the first time the Netherlands shot within the range of goal in the game. In injury time, Depay's shot was saved and Klassen scored.
Chelsea goalkeeper Mendy made a mistake.
To be fair, both goals were thanks to Senegalese goalkeeper Mendy, who first made a mistake in judgment and was preempted by Gakpo inserted in the back row; Faced with Depay's weak shot later, Mendy did not save the ball far and gave the opponent a second chance to make up for it.
Had it not been for this final stage of the rise, the Netherlands could have enjoyed an awkward draw – full court statistics show the Netherlands possessing 53 per cent to 47 per cent, shooting 10 to 15 and shooting 3 to 4 on target.
In Senegal, the Orange did not have the upper hand, and what was once a mercury-like attack turned into a warm swallow. During the game, some fans on social media also seemed to express their dissatisfaction cryptically, "missing Cruyfff, Gurlit, Basten, Bergkamp, Robben..."
Centre-back Van Dijk is Van Gaal's trump card.
Forward talent withers
Indeed, at a time when the world is talking about the Netherlands having a luxurious backline, Van Gaal's group of strikers can only be described as shabby.
Depay, who could not play at Barca, was the number one star, Berwin was returned by Tottenham, Luc de Jong was waived by Barca, Jensen played for Antwerp, Verhorst played for Besiktas, Noah Lang played for Club Brugge...
Just by looking at the owners, you can read that the talent of the Dutch forward line has withered, and the Dutchman is no longer visible in the main position of the five major league giants.
Because of the lackluster front, the Netherlands' proud backfield is also under pressure.
The team's metronome Frenkie de Jong provided an assist to break the deadlock, but conceded a whopping 14 goals in the game, not only because it was too sticky and because he couldn't find the right point forward.
De Ligt was somewhat embarrassed by Senegal's wide breakthrough as the right-hand player in the three centre-backs, which also had a lot to do with the fact that Dumfries, who played as a wingback, needed to step forward sharply to support a relatively thin striker.
After beating cancer, Louis van Gaal once again took charge of the Dutch team.
Pragmatic can also win the World Cup
Of course, to win the first game of the World Cup against Senegal, the Dutch team has taken a solid first step, and coach Louis van Gaal's strategizing has played a key role.
The 71-year-old van Gaal, the oldest manager at the World Cup, has been battling prostate cancer for quite some time, receiving 25 radiotherapy treatments but was ordered to take the lead after De Boer's defeat at the European Championship.
Coupled with this match, the Netherlands are unbeaten in 12 wins and 4 draws in 16 games since the European Championship was eliminated by the Czech Republic, and it seems that even if the play is no longer flashy, Van Gaal's team has paid off.
Before the start of this World Cup, Van Gaal made an unusually high-profile statement, "In 2014, the quality of our squad was not as good as it is now, but we finished third, and I believe that this time we can win the World Cup. ”
It wasn't Van Gaal's deliberate rehabilitation, with player Boguis revealing that when he sent a condolence message to the ailing manager, Van Gaal clearly told him, "Thank you, I hope you are ready to be world champions." ”
It's hard to say that the current Dutch squad really surpasses 2014, when the Dutch team still had Robben, Van Persie and Sneijder, which was also the last glory of the Dutch attack, but Van Gaal has his own football philosophy.
He stressed that a successful team needs a few top players, and other players will serve these players as a fighting collective, "I believe in my tactics and need players who can execute the tactical plan perfectly." ”
Talking about the good performance of the Dutch team in the 2014 World Cup, Van Gaal once revealed that he would ask more players to do a good defensive job, but when switching between attack and defense, he must accurately find the three stars in the front court - Sneijder, Robben and Van Persie, and now Van Gaal is clearly building a suitable tactic for the existing group of players.
The Netherlands goalkeeper Nopert, who has performed well, has never played for the national team before.
"Chef Fan" watched the dishes cook
After entering 2022, the Dutch team has never played 433 attacking formations again, and has always played three central defenders, which is inseparable from their five excellent central defenders: Van Dijk, De Ligt, Ake, De Vry and Timbere.
Since the field is rich, then "Chef Fan" will naturally watch the dishes, and the frontcourt players are arranged to play more blue-collar jobs, such as Jensen and Berwin, the two forwards of this game, one focuses on hand-to-hand combat with opposing defenders in the box, and the other frequently retreats for counter-grabbing.
Louis van Gaal knows that the current staffing is not enough to support the Dutch team to play beautiful attacking football, and if it is difficult, the Dutch team will end up the same as in the European Championship - the Orange will have to tie the fence and wait for the opportunity.
Van Gaal also has his own ideas when it comes to player selection, with Noperte, who has performed well in this campaign, who has never played for the national team before and even had plans to retire not long ago, but Van Gaalle has put the little-known goalkeeper in order.
Van Gaal also made positive adjustments to Depay's inability to start due to injury, telling the media before the game: "Without Memphis, we would lack creativity, so it was logical to choose Gakpo over Klaasen. ”
In the end, the Netherlands also relied on the performance of the two players at this beginning and end to get all 3 points.
De Jong and the Netherlands still need to find a sense of goal.
epilogue
The match wasn't a typical Dutch victory, but it was another sign of Van Gaal's individualism – with a win over Senegal, Van Gaal surpassed Edwalkart with 38 wins to become the Netherlands' all-time winning coach and laid a good foundation for the Dutch team to qualify.
With this performance, the Netherlands may not be the favourites for this World Cup, but Van Gaal has proved so far that he is still on the right track, and the outside world just needs to adapt to such a pragmatic and even somewhat mediocre Dutch team.