Qatar vs Senegal



By half time of the World Cup curtain raiser, Senegal’s price in this game was already dropping, before they’d even set foot on the pitch.
Qatar were abysmal. If you’d turned that game on with no knowledge of who they were playing, you could’ve mistaken Ecuador for Brazil; as the hosts managed to make them look like tournament favourites.
They didn’t manage a single shot on target, they had 0.28 xG, effectively all covers by a missed header from ‘star striker’ Almoez Ali.
After defeat to Netherlands, Senegal have to win this match before what looks already to be a straight shoutout with Ecuador.
Senegal’s clash with the Dutch was far from a classic, they were beaten 2-0, with a 100th minute goal sealing their fate.
However, they looked bright, particularly in the early stages. They only marginally lost the xG battle (0.82 vs 0.95) and had it not been for some suspect goalkeeping, things could’ve been different. With Senegal holding the Dutch at arms length until 84 minutes.
Senegal are a very strong side defensively they’ve suffered an average of just 0.80 xG across 2022. With an xGF of 1.52, which is very good.
They conceded just twice on their way to winning AFCON at the beginning of the year and with a defence marshalled by Kalidou Koulibaly, it’s got the look of an impenetrable wall for Qatar.
Although still without Sadio Mane. Ismaila Sarr, Krepin Diatta and Boulaye Dia all have enough about them to dispatch of Qatar.