Two late goals saw the Netherlands beat Senegal 2-0 in their FIFA World Cup (WC) Group A opener and extend their unbeaten run in WC opening matches to nine.
Read Also
Senegal found it tough going for large parts of the opening 45 minutes, but Ismaïla Sarr’s fierce effort that was headed to safety by Virgil van Dijk proved that CAF’s top-ranked nation wasn’t here to make up the numbers.
The second half followed a much similar pattern, with the Dutch in the ascendancy, while Senegal looked dangerous on the break.
Having played a key role in denying Sarr towards the end of the first half, Van Dijk showed his attacking prowess early in the second, thundering a header goalwards that flew narrowly over the bar.
Despite being on the back foot for most of the match, the best chance of the game arguably fell the way of Senegal, but as Boulaye Dia wriggled a yard in the box, he couldn’t direct his effort on target.
Davy Klaassen then added a second deep into stoppage time to wrap up all three points for the Netherlands in what was their first game at a World Cup since 2014.
