Netherlands beat Senegal 2-0 in Group A

The Netherlands defeated Senegal 2-0 in their Group A World Cup encounter.
Cody Gakpo scored the game-winning goal in the 85th minute after a flurry of late chances.
Davy Klaassen scored after Edouard Mendy mishandled a shot.

The Netherlands beat Senegal 2-0 in their Group A World Cup encounter, but they had to wait until the last minutes to secure the win.

Even if not every game can be a six-goal thriller, the Sunday matchup between two top-20 clubs at Doha’s Al Thumama Stadium likely left fans wanting more.

Although Senegal’s Ismaila Sarr sent in a cracking curling shot in the 24th minute that was deflected wide, the Netherlands edged an evenly matched, fluid first half.

Although the second half was relatively dull, Cody Gakpo scored the game-winning goal in the 85th minute after a flurry of late chances.

The number eight did very well to beat the Senegalese goalkeeper Edouard Mendy to the alluring cross from Barcelona’s young star Frenkie de Jong and put the ball in the back of the net.

Replace Inside the ninth minutes of additional time, Davy Klaassen scored after Mendy had mishandled a shot.

Senegal struggled without its star forward Sadio Mane, but Sarr, shifted to the left wing, excelled in an attempt to make up for the loss of production caused by Mane’s injury.

While the African champions did come near on a few times, they were met with stern opposition by Netherlands goalkeeper Andries Noppert, who produced a number of impressive saves in his debut international match.