Late goals from Cody Gakpo and Davy Klaassen gave Netherlands victory against Senegal in their opening Group A match of the 2022 World Cup.
Gakpo made a perfectly timed run to head home a beautifully weighted cross from Frenkie de Jong, before Klaassen tapped home to seal the win deep into injury time.
The Dutch are now undefeated in 16 matches under coach Louis van Gaal. They also stretched an unbeaten record in their opening game at World Cups that dates back to 1938.
Player ratings
Senegal: E. Mendy (4), Sabaly (7), Koulibaly (6), Cisse (6), Diallo (6), Kouyate (7), I. Gueye (5), N. Mendy (6), Diatta (5), Dia (5), Sarr (7).
Subs: Jakobs (6), Dieng (5), Jackson (5), P. Gueye (6).
Netherlands: Noppert (7), De Ligt (5), Van Dijk (6), Ake (6), Dumfries (6), Berghuis (6), De Jong (7), Blind (6), Gakpo (7), Janssen (6), Bergwijn (6).
Subs: Depay (5), Klaassen (7), Koopmeiners (6), De Roon (n/a).
Man of the match: Cody Gakpo
How the Dutch defeated dogged Senegal
Gakpo, who has now scored three goals in his last four internationals, had their first opportunity after four minutes but tried to square the ball to Steven Bergwijn instead of going for goal.
That was followed by a Daley Blind header at the far post that flew wide before Steven Berghuis sent Bergwijn through and he laid it off for the unmarked De Jong in the box.
The midfielder took far too long to release the ball, however, and his effort was blocked.
Big moments in the game…
- 19 mins: Frenkie de Jong’s effort is blocked after taking one touch too many following a delightful square ball from Steven Bergwijn.
- 25 mins: Ismaila Sarr unleashes a rasping shot but it is diverted away from goal by a Virgil van Dijk defensive header.
- 40 mins: Steven Berghuis shoots narrowly over Edouard Mendy’s crossbar from the edge of the area.
- 53 mins: Virgil van Dijk has a free header and should have opened the scoring but the Dutch captain is unable to keep his effort low enough.
- 65: Andries Noppert gets down to his left to parry away a Boulaye Dia shot.
- 84: Cody Gakpo beats Edouard Mendy to Frenkie de Jong’s cross to nod the Netherlands ahead
- 86: Andries Noppert denies Senegal a way back into the game after saving from Pape Gueye.
- 90+9: Davy Klaassen pounces on Mendy’s error to seal the win for the Netherlands
The African champions were badly missing injured talisman Sadio Mane and did not manage a shot on target until the 65th minute when Boulaye Dia’s tried to sneak one past goalkeeper Andries Noppert, making his Dutch debut, from a tight angle.
