The Teranga Lions and the Oranje offered a beautiful show to launch the World Cup. The Dutch were able to do their best before finishing in the final minutes and win 2-0
*Senegal lost at the very end of the match against the Netherlands after a good battle, for their entry into the World Cup.
*Deprived of their star Sadio Mané, and not helped by their goalkeeper Edouard Mendy, author of a big ball, the Lions of the Téranga have however not misplaced.
*There is reason to be optimistic for the next match against Qatar, which will already be decisive for the qualification.
20 Minutes : From our special envoy in Doha,
For a long time, we thought we held a 0-0 of those we like to watch, with movement, commitment and a desire to move forward. And then Frenkie de Jong pulled out his magic wand to send a remote ball on the head of Cody Gakpo, whose superb race and perfect sense of timing will be saluted. Better than Edward Mendy’s. Trapped by the middle position of the ball – neither too far, nor too close to the cage – Chelsea’s goalie punctured his way out without conviction.
Mendy probably knew he was late, so he pulled out his fists for the photo, like, “Look, I tried”. A pathology usually found in field players who are lazy enough to put their head on an aerial duel. On the second goal, the former Rennes player was knocked down by a nice shot from Memphis Depay. Passing through the corner, Klaasen finished the job. 2-0, thank you, goodbye. Football in all it has to offer.
Mané’s absence was not felt
«It was a very high level match, very complicated, but rather balanced, in my opinion the score does not reflect the face of the match», reacted Aliou Cissé in a press conference. The result does not reflect the scenario, a great classic of the genre. Except that for the moment, it is difficult to prove the Senegalese coach wrong.
Even without Sadio Mané, his team managed to hurt his opponent. 15 shots at 10, 4 on target against 3 for the Netherlands, who scored on their first shot on target. It would be dishonest to talk about the net domination of the Teranga Lions, but we can at least say that they deserved better. What more did the Dutch have? In a multiverse where Andries Noppert was not so strong, Boulaye Dia and Idrissa Gueye would have left with one goal each. Cissé:
Senegalese remain optimistic
Same analysis from Dia’s side. We’ve had a lot of striking situations where we should have done better but that’s the way it is. We had a good plan: stay in a block and squeeze them at times, we had counters on which we hurt them.” No real frustration in the words of the former striker of the Stade de Reims, rather hope for the future, despite the absence of Sadio Mané, who is necessarily missing. We know his qualities, we know what he brings us on and off the ground, adds Dia. Yes, we are missing him, but we are a collective, 26 players, and we give everything.”
No fatality or resignation in the words of the former Reims striker. The content of the match against the Netherlands spurs optimism. We’ve had a lot of movement, we’ve done a lot of good things. We’re going to use the same ingredients to try to win the next game.” It will be against Qatar. At first impressions, we don’t worry too much about Aliou Cissé’s men. The second match against Qatar will be very difficult, concludes the coach. But we have to make sure we win it. And it can motivate us to lose. Not everything was bad.” Except maybe Edouard Mendy.
Source: 20 minutes / By William Pereira
