Qatar 2022: Football enthusiasts hail Senegal in defeat

Football enthusiasts have hailed the lions of Teranga in spite of their 0-2 loss to the Netherlands in their first Group a game at the ongoing 2022 FIFA World Cup.

The News agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that two late goals from the Netherlands sealed a crucial victory in their World Cup opener against Senegal on monday.

It was a tight affair between two even teams, but two goalkeepers, edouard mendy mistakes allowed Davy Klaassen and Cody Gakpo to score late goals for louis van Gaal’s men.

Some football enthusiasts who spoke to NAN after the game noted that the african champions gave a good account of themselves.

They said that inexperience of the team was their greatest undoing.

Gbenga elegbeleye, former Director-general, National Sports Commission, said the african champions gave a good account of themselves but lost to a better side.

“You could see that the game was won from the bench. It speaks a lot about experience and squad depth. This was indeed the vital ingredients lacking in the Senegalese team. It was also glaring that the team’s talisman, Sadio mane was also a big miss as the Senegalese failed to convert their chances upfront,” he said.

mouktar mohammed, FCT Fa Chairman said it was a bit of a disappointment for Senegal as well as the african continent.

he said that the african champions truly deserved to have gotten something out of the game.

“I think the Senegalese will be disappointed because they dominated the game, especially in the early stages of the second half. They conceded the goals in the later stages of the game. So, that’s a bit of a disappointment for the african champions. But hopefully they will go home, work on their mistakes and come back strong,” he said.

“The Netherlands have obviously put themselves in a very strong position with this crucial win. however, it is not over for Senegal at all as their group isn’t the strongest in the tournament.

“We watched the hosts against ecuador in their opening game and saw how poor they were. So, I am confident that Senegal will beat Qatar. I feel the game between the african champions and ecuador will be a decider of who finishes second in the group and goes through with Netherlands into the knock out round,” he said.