DOHA, Qatar — The Netherlands set up a potential Group A decider against Ecuador on Friday by opening their World Cup campaign with a 2-0 win against Senegal at Al Thumama stadium.
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Goals from Cody Gakpo and Davy Klaassen in the final five minutes ensured a comfortable winning margin against the African champions, who must now beat host nation Qatar in their next game to maintain hopes of quaking for the second round.
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Rapid Reaction
1. Gakpo snatches late win against Senegal
Cody Gakpo lived up to his billing as one of the sought-after young forwards in Europe by teeing up a 2-0 win for the Netherlands in their Group A opener against Senegal. PSV Eindhoven forward Gakpo came close to a move to Manchester United during the summer and remains on their radar ahead of the January transfer window. And in his first game on the World Cup stage, the 23-year-old ensured that Louis van Gaal’s team made a winning start and gave themselves the edge in the race to qualify for the second round as group winners.
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With the game seemingly drifting towards a 0-0 draw, Gakpo arrived late in the Senegal penalty area to head Frenkie de Jong‘s cross past a hesitant Edouard Mendy in the African champions’ goal. Gakpo had been quiet during the game having been deployed in a deeper role by Van Gaal and the Dutch struggled to make an impact against a Senegal team without their injured talisman Sadio Mane. But with the group winners due to face the runners-up in Group B — likely Wales or the USA — winning the group means avoiding a potential clash against England, so the three points could be crucial for the Dutch, who made it 2-0 in the final seconds of stoppage time when Davy Klaassen capitalised on another Mendy error.
As for Senegal, despite creating some second-half chances, they failed to suggest they could become the first African team to go beyond the quarterfinals in Qatar. Their clash with Ecuador next Tuesday is set to be the game which decides their fate.
