Senegal vs. Netherlands 11/21/22 World Cup Soccer Picks, Predictions, Odds

Senegal and the Netherlands kick off their World Cup in a Group A soccer showdown at Al Thumama Stadium in Al Thumama, Qatar. 

Injuries are always a part of the World Cup, and Senegal has learned that firsthand. Sadio Mané suffered a Fibula injury earlier this month, and won’t be with the team for the World Cup. Sane was a big reason they even made the World Cup, and they are going to need to find a way to replace his goal-scoring. Abdou Diallo is dealing with a knee injury, and it doesn’t look like he’s going to be able to go in this game. The last game for Senegal came on September 27th against Iran, and that game ended in a 1-1 draw. The only goal scored for Senegal was an own goal. There are some major questions with this offense, and they need to try to find the offense going here. 

On the other side of this matchup is the Netherlands, who have hopes of winning this World Cup, and that starts with a victory in this game. This isn’t the star-studded team of years past, but they are a solid team all around, and are pretty healthy heading into this game. Attacker Memphis Depay is dealing with a hamstring injury and has been ruled out for this game. Jeremie Frimpong and Vincent Janssen are both expected to move into the starting lineup here. The Netherlands has won three games in a row heading into this game. On September 25th against Belgium, the Netherlands were able to secure a 1-0 victory. Virgil van Dijk scored in the 73rd minute. 

If Senegal had Mane, this is a team that could make a run in the World Cup, but without him, Senegal isn’t going to be putting many quality scoring chances together. Not having Memphis Depay is a big loss for this Netherlands team either, and that is going to lead to this game being lower scoring. I do think the Netherlands gets on the board, but Senegal won’t. This game is going to under the total. I am also throwing a few dollars on the Netherlands 1-0 as an exact score.