Senegal vs Netherlands Match Preview

For the 1st matchday of Group A for the 2022 World Cup, Senegal will face the Netherlands. The other two teams in the group are Ecuador and Qatar.

A thrilling qualification to the World Cup finals for Senegal as they needed a play-off in the qualifiers to see off Egypt in two legs games. Thus, they will take part for the second time in a row and third overall in the final stage of the World Cup, with a better course than in 2002 where they reached the quarter-finals.

At the same time, they are the champion of Africa as last February they won the title for the first time in their history. Senegal's goal in the competition initially is to qualify from the group stage, but on the downside is the absence due to injury of their big star, Sadio Mane.

The Netherlands were very good in the qualifiers, finishing first in their group with 23 points, having a record of 7 wins, 2 draws and 1 loss, earning their rightful place in the World Cup in Qatar. This is the 11th appearance in their history, having missed the previous event, while in 2014 they reached 3rd place.

They start the competition with very big ambitions as they are considered filled in all the lines, they count in the last 15 official games 11 wins and 4 draws and aim for a place in the semi-finals!

The Netherlands are rightly the favorite of the match as they excel in quality and experience. Senegal have the loss of Mane which is pivotal and will hardly be able to match the group favourites. I think that the Netherlands will start their obligations in the tournament on the right foot, easily or not. My pick is a win for the Netherlands at odds of 1.60.