At the 2022 World Cup, the Netherlands will think they can win Group A. There hasn't been much pre-tournament discussion about Louis van Gaal's team winning the World Cup.
The Dutch, on the other hand, have a potent squad and are coming off an outstanding UEFA Nations League season.
The Netherlands' route to the final is unfavorable to bookmakers. In the quarterfinals, the Dutch would probably face Argentina, the second-most popular team in the World Cup.
The Netherlands will probably face World Cup favorite Brazil if they prevail in their quarterfinal matchup.
However, since the Orange must win Group A in order to proceed in the manner described above and get to the championship game.
Senegal, the current champion of the Africa Cup of Nations, is the Netherlands' first opponent.
The news that Sadio Mane of Bayern Munich has been disqualified from the competition has hurt Senegal's prospects of moving on to the round of 16.
Mane got hurt during Bayern Munich's second-to-last week of Bundesliga play before the break. The news came out four days before Senegal's first game at the World Cup.
Aliou Cisse, the team's manager, will be hopeful that the group can perform well without Mane. Even with Mane on the roster, Senegal was not the most creative or high-scoring team.
There is concern that Senegal's chance to advance to the round of 16 has passed, leaving either Qatar or Ecuador free to take advantage.
Van Gaal is concerned about two injuries coming into the first gameday. Memphis Depay, a striker for Barcelona, is recovering from a thigh injury but should be fit to start.
Marten de Roon, a midfielder, could not participate due to a thigh injury.
In recent games, the Dutch manager has preferred a 3-4-1-2 formation. Depay should start as one of the two attackers if he is healthy.
Another option is Wout Weghorst, who offers the traditional target-man style and gives Depay the possibility to play passes off of him.
The defense will be led by Virgil van Dijk, with Nathan Anke perhaps lining up next to him. Van Gaal wants to utilize wingbacks who are defensively sound.
This gives the Dutch the chance to go back to a five-man defensive backline.
The Netherlands averaged 3.3 goals per game in their 10 qualifying games, scoring 33 overall. Without Mane, Senegal should strain and fall short of testing the Dutch defense.
The Netherlands should win convincingly, 3-0 or more, to get things going. The match will be live on KBC1 signet channel.
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