After months of anticipation, the wait is over: Senegal vs Netherlands will get the Qatar 2022 World Cup underway on the 21st of November.
This FIFA World Cup 2022 Group A fixture will get the ball rolling and provide these teams – Senegal, the Africa Cup of Nations champions, and the Netherlands, three-time World Cup finalists – with a chance to get their campaign up and running with a win.
You can place your wagers for this game at LV BET, where we have betting tips and odds for every single match on all the Qatar 2022 dates!
- Can African champions Senegal rule the world?
- Are the Netherlands major contenders once again?
- Who will get off to the best start in FIFA World Cup 2022 Group A?
- Where to place your Senegal vs Netherlands bets
Can the Champions of Africa Rule FIFA World Cup 2022 Group A?
Their Africa Cup of Nations triumph in 2021 was a watershed moment for Senegal, who had never won a major tournament prior to their run to the trophy in Cameroon.
Before that, their most memorable moment on the global stage was reaching the quarter-finals of the 2002 World Cup, where they lost to Turkey in extra time.
Surprisingly, Senegal have only qualified for one of the four World Cup editions held since their halcyon days in ’02, and that saw them knocked out in the group stage in Russia four years ago.
But the Lions of Teranga, as they are sometimes known, have been handed a major boost with their major win on their domestic continent, and now they will head to the Qatar World Cup 2022 full of confidence.
They may just fancy their chances in this FIFA World Cup 2022 Group A fixture. The Netherlands have a fantastic pedigree in international tournaments, but it’s been a while since they were at their best, whereas Senegal seems to be at the peak of their powers.
That said, their 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification campaign didn’t go without a hitch, and they needed to win a penalty shootout – Bayern Munich star Sadio Mane netted the winner after his former Liverpool teammate Mo Salah missed – to defeat Egypt.
Their top scorers in the FIFA World Cup 2022 qualifiers were:
| Name | Position | Matches | Goals |
| Famara Diedhiou | Forward | 5 | 4 |
| Ismaila Sarr | Forward | 8 | 3 |
| Sadio Mane | Forward | 7 | 3 |
Coached by Aliou Cisse, the Lions have a stack of talented players plying their club trade all over the world. Mane, Sarr and Diedhiou will lead the attack, while Edouard Mendy, Kalidou Koulibaly and Idrissa Gueye make up the rock-solid spine of the team.
Netherlands Keen to Recapture Glory Days
The Netherlands were one of the strongest teams in world football in the 1970s and ‘80s, although they have largely fallen on hard times since – their run to the final of World Cup 2010 feels like a long time ago given that they didn’t qualify for this tournament in 2018, and they failed to progress past the last 16 at Euro 2020.
But with Louis van Gaal in charge, the Oranje appear to be heading in the right direction. They qualified for the World Cup in Qatar with relative ease, losing just one of their ten games played.
They averaged 3.3 goals scored per game too, with Memphis Depay leading the way:
| Name | Position | Matches | Goals |
| Memphis Depay | Forward | 10 | 12 |
| Davy Klaassen | Midfield | 10 | 4 |
| Donyell Malen | Forward | 6 | 3 |
Since qualifying for the Qatar World Cup, the Netherlands have won three out of four UEFA Nations League games, scoring two or more goals in each of their matches, including a 4-1 away victory against Belgium. With the likes of Depay, Malen and Steven Bergwijn leading the line and Virgil van Dijk shoring up the defence, this is a strong Dutch team.
Betting Tips and Odds on Senegal vs Netherlands in FIFA World Cup 2022 Group A
In the LV BET odds, the Netherlands have been made a comfortable favourite to win this game, but should bettors be so quick to write off Senegal?
The average temperature in Qatar in November is around 26˚C, and that surely hands something of an edge to the Africans in this afternoon kick-off.
They have world-class operators in Mane and Koulibaly, and while the Dutch are well-drilled under Van Gaal, it might be suggested that the Senegal vs Netherlands betting odds are too skewed in the favour of the Europeans.
Interestingly, both the Senegalese and Dutch will fancy their chances of advancing from Group A ahead of hosts Qatar and Ecuador, and so a draw in this opening game will perhaps suit both teams down to the ground.
You can watch Senegal vs Netherlands in the UK via the BBC.
Bets on Senegal vs Netherlands at LV BET
There are more than 300 different bet types available on this Group A game at LV BET.
You can bet on who you think will win the game, how many goals there will be, what will happen in each half and much more besides.
So, why not sign up for an LV BET account today? There’s no better place for your World Cup 2022 betting!