World Cup 2022 Senegal vs Netherlands, Tips and Predictions

Netherlands will begin their World Cup campaign at the Al Thumama Stadium on November 21st as they face Senegal in a potential tricky Group A opener.

This will be Senegal’s third appearance at the World Cup and the first time that they’ve made consecutive appearances at the tournament. In 2018, they exited at the group stage despite winning their opening fixture against Poland. Despite suffering just a single defeat, they were unable to progress and will be hoping to go one step further this time around.

The Netherlands have been a popular betting tip in the outright World Cup betting odds with the Oranje expected to progress easily from a relatively winnable-looking Group A. Louis Van Gaal’s side didn’t qualify for the 2018 World Cup and they will be keen to make up for lost time. During their last appearance at the tournament, they finished third.

10Bet have priced the Netherlands up as the 5/8 favourites. Given their firepower, they are expected to collect three points in this opener, however, Senegal have only ever lost once at this tournament in 90 minutes (vs Colombia in 2018). 888Sport are offering 22/5 on Senegal to spring an upset and get off to a winning start.

• Senegal and the Netherlands have never previously met.
• Senegal – Senegal collected four points during the 2018 World Cup, however, it wasn’t enough to progress. They managed to keep three clean sheets in their last four African Nations Cup qualifiers. They also conceded just three times en-route to qualifying for this event.
• Netherlands – Netherlands are full of goals and scored 12 times during their first four matches at the 2014 World Cup. Despite a vast turnover in players and managers, they still follow a similar philosophy today and scored 33 times in 10 World Cup qualifiers.

Senegal have kept things tight during their recent qualifiers, however, this a significant step up in class and they are unlikely to keep a clean sheet. Netherlands play attacking football and have a plethora of attacking talent. However, clean sheets can be hard to come by.

OVER 2.5 GOALS

Senegal will fancy their chances of beating both Qatar and Ecuador, so they will see this game as a bit of a free hit. They should be able to play their part in an entertaining 90 minutes.

BOTH TEAMS TO SCORE

Although Memphis Depay will take the majority of the headlines, Cody Gapko could be worth looking at. The 23-year old has scored eight times in his first seven matches for PSV this season and netted in the Netherland’s Nations League victory over Wales.

CODY GAPKO – ANYTIME GOALSCORER

Senegal

Senegal were one of the surprise packages of the 2002 World Cup and they will be hoping to replicate those heroics in Qatar. They are well-equipped to give it a good go and will fancy their chances of following the Netherlands into the knock-out rounds.

Key Players: Sadio Mane, Ismaila Sarr

Team News: Senegal have a few injury worries including the talismanic Sadio Mane, who picked up an injury at the beginning of the month. Some sources have claimed that he is unlikely to be fit enough for this opener. Keita Balde is banned until December 5th whereas Bouna Sarr is unlikely to play any part here.

Predicted Lineups: Edouard Mendy, Youssouf Sabaly, Kalidou Koulibaly, Abdou Diallo, Fode Ballo-Toure, Nampalys Mendy, Idrissa Gueye, Ismaila Sarr, Pape Matar Sarr, Sadio Mane, Habib Diallo.

Netherlands

Louis Van Gaal’s side undoubtedly have talent and the former the experienced coach must find a way to keep his squad happy. He will be expected to deliver during the group stage and the Oranje have been widely predicted to reach the final four. This is arguably their toughest Group A contest and they will be pleased to edge their way to three points.

Key Players: Memphis Depay, Virgil Van Dijk

Team News: Georginio Wijnaldum will miss the entire tournament having picked up an injury for PSG whereas Marten de Roon’s recent return to action may have come too soon. Louis Van Gaal is likely to be faithful to Memphis Depay and Frankie de Jong despite the pair having played very few minute domestically.

Predicted Lineups: Jasper Cillessen, Nathan Ake, Virgil Van Dijk, Daley Blind, Denzel Dumfries, Davy Klaassen, Frankie de Jong, Steven Berghuis, Memphis Depay, Steven Bergwin.

The majority of these opening group games are expected to be fairly cagey, however, this could be the outlier. The Netherlands don’t tend to do low-scoring games and they have numerous attacking options on the bench if they are struggling to find a way through. Senegal have plenty of individual performers and should be able to play their part in a very watchable affair.

Bet on Over 2.5 Goals