Author: Katleho Hlalele
November 26, 2022
The host nation Qatar is out of the World Cup after losing two consecutive group stage matches in a row. The middle east country is the second in World Cup history to be knocked out of the tournament in the group stages after South Africa.
Qatar will play their final game on Tuesday against three-time World Cup finalists, the Netherlands. But the results they get against the Dutch country won’t help them progress into the next round, which is the “last 16” of the tournament. The hosts were dismantled by Senegal in a 3 – 1 defeat at Al Thumama Stadium on Friday afternoon.
However, Qatar had a strong penalty appeal in the first half when Akram Afif appeared to have been fouled by Ismaila Sarr even though referee Mateu Lahoz insisted the play-on. A few minutes later, Boulaye Dia gave the Senegalese a lead before the break. The Lions of Teranga extended their lead three minutes after the second half had resumed from a header by Famara Diedhiou to make it 2 – 0.
The Asian champions tried to make a comeback after their opposition took the second goal of the match. But they found it hard to break Senegal’s defence with the half chances they were creating. Felix Sanchez, the Qatar national team’s coach, put in substitute Mohammed Muntari giving his team the hope that they could turn the game around. He scored the first goal for Qatar since the tournament started, four minutes after he came on to make it 2 – 1.
Senegal became unsettled and started to dominate the match when Qatar scored a goal against them. The visitors scored a third goal by Ahmadou Bamba Dieng from a cross by Iliman Ndiaye, with both substitutes of Aliou Cisse combining nicely to make the score 3 – 1.
The second Group A match between Ecuador and Netherlands ended in a 1 – 1 draw, giving both sides four points after two matches. This means that if Qatar beats the Netherlands by any score, they will have their first three points but won’t progress because only two teams will go to the next round.
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