Senegal found out right away how much it’s going to miss Sadio Mane at the World Cup. The African champions despite a spirited performance lost 2-0 to the Netherlands in their opening game.
In a game of precious little quality, Cody Gakpo and Davy Klaassen provided late goals, although both owed plenty to some very poor goalkeeping from Edouard Mendy.
Below are 4 things we learned from the clash.
No Sadio Mane
Aliou Cisse knows he has one of, if not the best player in the world. When one player is out, another of similar quality slots in, a scenario that’s not afforded to most teams.
However, in order to get results especially at this stage, you need your big names playing, and Sadio Mane is just about the biggest of them all. The Bayern Munich man missed the World Cup through an injury he picked while playing for his club.
His absence really affected the Lions of Teranga as they struggled to penetrate the solid Dutch defence albeit a spirited performance. The attacking impetus of the Africans was reduced in his absence. He often starts on the right for Senegal but is given the license to remain high upfield when his team are defending, with the centre-forward instead dropping back to help out defensively.
Senegal starts well but finish badly
Before this game, Aliou Cisse’s side were tagged as the underdogs by connoisseurs of the game. They did not look like a team low on confidence in the opening exchanges on Monday, though.
The West Africans were calm and composed throughout the first half, sitting back in a compact defensive shape and holding the Netherlands at arm’s length. Louis Van Gaal’s men were allowed plenty of possession but their lack of cutting edge made life comfortable for the Senegalese, who retained a threat on the counter-attack.
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Things changed after the interval, though, as Senegal conceded two times to leave the stadium empty-handed.
Netherlands not convincing enough despite triumph
Netherlands might have won the game but they were far from being a tournament favourite. The Europeans were guilty of being overly pedestrian with their passing, though, while they are were also hampered by a lack of natural width as Daley Blind and Denzel Dumfries continually drifted inside.
With Vincent Janssen, Steven Bergwijn and Gakpo as a front three, the Dutch lacked any sort of quality up front for an hour. Even when the returning Memphis Depay came off the bench, Louis van Gaal’s side struggled to create any major chances after the first five minutes
Netherlands approach was rather flat, however, and it took a header from a cross to make the breakthrough.
Mendy had a night to forget
Edouard Mendy had a night to forget in Qatar with Senegal. The Chelsea goalkeeper at fault for all the two goals Senegal conceded on the night. Mendy has been brilliant for the African champions and has earned a lot of praise, but the big man knows tonight, he’s let himself and the team down.
The goalkeeper has to pick himself up quickly. It’s not a case of learning lessons. Mendy is an established goalkeeper who should be more reliable in high pressure situations. On Monday night, he fell short.
By: Godfred Budu
