Heartbreak for Senegal as Dutch late goals sink them

Gakpo, Klaasen leave Lions with mountain to climb

Netherlands left it late as they scored twice to beat Senegal 20 in their opening match of the Fifa World Cup at Al Thumama Stadium last night.

The match was destined for a draw with five minutes remaining, but the Netherlands scored twice late through Cody Gakpo and Davy Klaassen.

Senegal thought they had done enough to earn a draw in a match they dominated, but Netherlands had other ideas as they joined Ecuador at the top of Group A.

The Lions of Teranga next face Qatar on Friday needing a win to stay alive in the tournament they are fancied to go through to the next round

First, Gakpo brilliantly timed his run to get in behind the Lions of Teranga defence to connect with Frenkie De Jong’s cross and steer a glancing header past the onrushing Edouard Mendy from the edge of the six-yard five minutes from time.

Then Klaassen tap in after Mendy failed to hold on a shot to make it 2-0.

It was a blow for Senegal as they played well in the match and deserved at least a point, but poor finishing was the difference.

Following Ecuador ’ s win over host Qatar on Sunday in the opening match of the tournament in Group A, both teams who are tipped to progress to the next round were eyeing a victory as well.

But it was not to be for Senegal as they conceded late and will be disappointed with the results.

The Lions of Teranga had suffered a major blow before the tournament with star player Sadio Mane ruled out due to a fibula injury, which he sustained when playing for Bayern Munich against Werder Bremen in the Bundesliga earlier this month.

Coach Aliou Cisse was forced to adjust his tactics to deal with the absence of their key player against the Netherlands.

Building up to the tournament, Senegal were generally tough to break down, with six clean sheets in their previous eight matches and were looking to continue with that in their opening match of the tournament but conceded late.

The absence of Mane had a negative impact as Senegal had chances in the match but failed to convert them.

/DAN MULLAN /GETTY IMAGES Senegal keeper Edouard Mendy deflects the ball away from Virgil van Dijk during the Fifa World Cup Group A match against Netherlands at Al Thumama Stadium.