Senegal vs Netherlands World Cup 2022 LIVE: Result, score and reaction as Dutch snatch late win
Senegal 0-2 Netherlands: Cody Gakpo and Davy Klaassen’s finishes gave the Dutch victory after a largely dour encounter in Group A
The Netherlands seized the advantage in World Cup Group A as goals from Cody Gakpo and Davy Klaassen sealed a 2-0 win over African champions Senegal on Monday.
The Lions of Teranga are missing their talisman, Bayern Munich star Sadio Mane, at this tournament and though they battled hard, could not find a way past the debutant Dutch goalkeeper Andries Noppert. The win puts the Oranje, three times World Cup finalists, in a strong position in the group, with matches against Ecuador and hosts Qatar to come.
A disappointing match at Al Thumama Stadium was played in front of plenty of empty seats, despite organisers’ claims that the country is gripped by World Cup fever. However, the attendance was given as 41,721 – more than the stadium is actually listed to hold.
The goal the Dutch craved finally arrived with six minutes of normal time to go, as Frenkie de Jong swung in a ball from the left and Gakpo beat Chelsea goalkeeper Edouard Mendy to it to head home. It was no less than the PSV Eindhoven man deserved after an impressive performance. Substitute Pape Gueye almost responded instantly for Senegal, but again Noppert got down well to a low shot. Eight minutes of injury time were added, and the Dutch sealed victory in the final seconds when Mendy spilled a shot from Memphis Depay and fellow substitute Klaassen followed up to slot home the rebound.
Relive all the action from Qatar with our live blog below:
USA 0-0 Wales
5 mins: Mepham heads away the USA corner, but the north Americans work the ball up their left side, with Pulisic clearly very up for this game.
Wales snuff out the attack, but USA switch the ball across the pitch and probe from that side.
USA 0-0 Wales
4 mins: Roberts dispossessed Pulisic on Wales’ right flank, but he concedes a corner in doing so.
USA 0-0 Wales
3 mins: USA have a free kick some 15 yards from the Wales box, out to the right.
Pulisic whips the ball into the area, but it’s low and dealt with comfortably.
USA will come forward again, however.
USA 0-0 Wales
2 mins: A couple of neat early moves from USA on their right flank, with both of those moves ending due to crunching Wales challenges.
USA 0-0 Wales
Kick-off: HERE WE GO!
Wales vs USA is under way in Al Rayyan!
USA vs Wales
The teams are on the pitch, and the national anthems are under way!
USA vs Wales
Here’s US president Joe Biden calling the USA team ahead of their clash with Wales:
Biden tells ‘underdog’ USA team to ‘go shock ‘em all’ ahead of first World Cup match
Joe Biden called the USA national team to wish them the best of luck ahead of their first match at World Cup 2022 against Wales. "Coach, put me on I'm ready to play," the president jokingly told Gregg Berhalter as he answered the call from the Oval Office. Biden said: "I know you're underdogs, but I'll tell you what, man, you've some of the best players in the world on your team. I know you're gonna play your hearts out, so let's go shock 'em all." Sign up for our newsletters.
USA vs Wales
A reminder of the other Group B result today:
Thrilling England hit six as Iran show Fifa how to take a stand
England 6-2 Iran: Teenage midfielder Jude Bellingham was at the heart of a relentless attacking performance by Gareth Southgate’s side as Iran fans protested against the regime
USA vs Wales
The shirt Pele wore in Wales’ last match in a World Cup ended up being used by a Sunday league pub team in Swansea. It may have cost Mel Charles, the defender who swapped shirts with the 17-year-old in Gothenburg, a small fortune in latter years when such memorabilia would have been valuable; as it was, Charles, who played in era when the maximum wage was £20 a week, could not afford a new kit for the amateur side he managed and so reached into his stash of former international shirts.
Should, say, Joe Rodon or Chris Mepham end up with Lionel Messi’s top in a potential quarter-final in December, it is unlikely to meet with a similar fate. But it is one illustration of how times have changed since Wales last graced the global stage. In 1958, 25 percent of the teams were the Home Nations; there was a British pot in the draw. And if that ensured they could not face each other in the group stage then, now, as in Euro 2016, Wales are pooled with England. They topped that pool on their way to the semi-finals and a small country have shown they can go a long way: Wales have escaped the group stage in 1958, 2016 and Euro 2020.
Here’s a look at their chances in Qatar:
Wales ready to prove again that sidekicks can star in their own right
Wales are out to echo recent tournament successes at a first World Cup for 64 years
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