The Senegal team won by 3-1, this Friday morning (25) at the Al Thumama Stadium, and ended the chances of Qatar guaranteeing qualification, in Group A, for the round of 16 of the Qatar Cup.
Lift off for Senegal ?@adidasfootball ?? #FIFAWorldCup
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) November 25, 2022
Coach Félix Sánchez, from Qatar, made an important change from the first to the second game. Swapped insecure goalkeeper Alsheeb for substitute Barsham. Senegal, with more quality, didn’t care about that and from the beginning of the game pressed in search of the goal, which did not take away the excitement of the Qatari fans (almost exclusively male), who positioned themselves right behind one of the goals.
At 15 minutes, Barsham was demanded. The Senegalese Diatta stole the ball and filled the foot, but the goalkeeper sent it to corner. At 23 minutes, it was Ghana Gueye’s turn to take a risk from outside the area, taking paint off the Qatar post. Nobody doubted that the keynote of the game would be this: one team attacking and the other waiting for a single opportunity. Perhaps, if Sadio Mané were in this Cup, Senegal would have a much easier time breaking through the hosts’ blockade.
The expectation in the stadium was due to a move in the 33rd minute of the 1st half, when the Qatari Afif was brought down in the area by the Senegalese defender. Spanish referee Antonio Mateu ignored the penalty claims and followed the game.
At 40 minutes there was no way. A blunder by Qatari defender Khoukhi, who didn’t know how to cut the ball, allowed number 9 Boulaye Dia to come in with a low shot to make it 1-0. A deserved result.
In the final stage the pressure continued. In a corner kick, just after 3 minutes, Famara Diedhiou appeared with a header to score again. 2-0 with extreme ease.
Interestingly, after this goal everything changed. Seeking to react, in the 15th minute, defender Hassan kicked from outside the area trying to surprise goalkeeper Mendy. The ball went very close. Ali Amoez also tested Mendy at 17. And, at 21, Edouard Mendy saved the Cup, cornering a ball that Mohamad hit from inside the small area. Until then, Qatar still did not score goals in its own Cup.
After so much pressure, the Senegalese coach Aliou Cissé realized that he needed to change the way the team was playing and started making substitutions, even trying to stop the game more often. The strategy didn’t work out and, in the 32nd minute, in a cross to the area, substitute Mohammed Muntari tested for Mendy’s net, who didn’t even move. Qatar reduced the advantage to 2 to 1 and set the fans on fire at the stadium.
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Mohammed Muntari scores the first goal for @QFA in a #FIFAWorldCup EVER! ?? pic.twitter.com/tnKayqlfSq
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) November 25, 2022
But the reaction was aborted in the 37th minute, when, in a low cross to the Qatar area, substitute Cheikh Dieng, who had just entered, increased the score to 3-1 with an unstoppable shot by goalkeeper Barsham.
The victory put Senegal back in the Cup. Thus, the match against Ecuador, for the third round, on Tuesday (29), will be decisive. Qatar ended up eliminated after the second consecutive defeat. Even so, he still returns to the field to say goodbye to his fans, on the same Tuesday, against the Netherlands.
