Netherlands suffered a blow to their World Cup plans when attacker Memphis Depay was ruled out of their opening match against Senegal.
The Dutch are due to began their campaign against the reigning African champions, who have themselves already lost the services of their own key striker, with Sadio Mane missing the tournament in Qatar due to injury.
Depay has been struggling with a hamstring problem for two months but this week told reporters he was fit to play after taking part in training.
“It will be a blow for us just like Sadio Mane missing for Senegal is a blow for them,” Netherlands manager Louis Van Gaal said of Monday’s Group A clash at the Al Thumama Stadium in Doha.
“Mane is an extraordinary player. I wanted him when I was the manager at Manchester United. I chased him at the time.
“I am a fan of Mane. He can break open a match and I would say Senegal will really miss him.
“But the same applies to us. We are missing our top scorer and king of the assists [in Depay].”
The 71-year-old, in his third stint as national coach and who led the Dutch to a third-placed finish in Brazil in 2014, said the quality in his squad is even higher than the team he brought to Brazil.
“I believe that this group of players are well-connected to each other together, they work well together in a professional way, and I think that will always contribute to success.
HOW THE NETHERLANDS QUALIFIED FOR WORLD CUP 2022:
(Group G): March 24, 2021. Turkey 4 (Yilmaz (15', pen 34', 81'), Calhanoglu 46') Netherlands 2 (Klaassen 75', De Jong 76'): A disastrous start to the campaign for the Dutch as a Burak Yilmaz hat-trick condemned Frank de Boer's team to defeat, with Memphis Depay also missing a penalty. De Boer said: “Very disappointing result, and also the way that result came about. Our tempo should have been higher, especially before the break.” AFP
March 27, 2021. Netherlands 2 (Berghuis 32', L de Jong 69') Latvia 0. A much-needed pick-me-up for the Dutch after the Turkey defeat with Frank de Boer's side creating a remarkable 37 chances - although only finding the net twice - to kick-start their campaign. “I'm very happy with it and proud,” said Steven Berghuis, who scored his first international goal. “It's what you work hard for. I want to be important for Oranje. It's unbelievable it was [only] 1-0 after the first half.” Getty
March 30, 2021. Gibraltar 0 Netherlands 7 (Berghuis 41', L de Jong 55', Depay 61', 88', Wijnaldum 62', Malen 64', Van de Beek 85'): Mission achieved for manager Frank de Boer who had said before the game that he wanted to win by at least five goals, although it took more than 40 minutes for the floodgates to open. De Boer said: “The first 20 minutes were difficult. After that we started creating chances, but we couldn’t convert them and ... it started to get frustrating. But we knew that eventually things would fall into place.” Getty
September 1, 2021. Norway 1 (Haaland 20') Netherlands (Klaassen 37'): Davy Klaassen scored for the Dutch after Erling Haaland had put Norway into an early lead to earn a point for returning manager Louis van Gaal, who had replaced Frank de Boer who left the role after a disappointing Euro 2020. Van Gaal said: “I told the players that we had been careless. But that’s also because of the way Norway played. We can think that this Dutch national team is world-class, but it is not." AFP
September 4, 2021. Netherlands 4 (Depay pen 38', 62', Wijnaldum 70', Gakpo 76') Montenegro 0. Memphis Depay reached 30 goals for his country with a double as manager Louis van Gaal earned the first win of his third reign in charge. Van Gaal said: "We started very badly – in the first 15 minutes, we seemed to have stress. But after 15-to-20 minutes we picked ourselves up ... I think that is very good in itself." EPA
September 7, 2021. Netherlands 6 (Klaassen 1', Depay 16', 38' pen 54', Til 80', Malen 90') Turkey 1 (Under 90+2'): Sweet revenge for the Dutch after their defeat back in March. Memphis Depay grabbed a hat-trick to send Van Gaal's team top of the group. “I enjoy playing," Depay said. "I’m having a great time and I’m in great shape. I’m 27. I had a serious injury, which was now a while back, but I don’t forget it easily. I worked hard, but now I’m back." EPA
October 8, 2021. Latvia 0 Netherlands 1 (Klaassen 19'): Davy Klaassen grabbed the only goal of the game to make it three victories on the spin for manager Louis van Gaal with the Dutch sitting top of the group by two points. "We should have been better. But three points are very important for qualification,” captain Virgil van Dijk said. AP
October 11, 2021. Netherlands 6 (Van Dijk 9', Depay 21', pen 45+3'), Dumfries 48', Danjuma 75', Malen 86') Gibraltar 0: Memphis Depay was back in the goals with a double - while also missing a penalty - as the Dutch coasted to an easy victory to maintain their two-point lead at the top over Norway. Van Gaal said: "Aside from the six goals we created an incredible amount of chances and hardly gave any away. I complimented the team on the way they executed the plan, because it was nice to watch." AFP
November 13, 2021. Montenegro 2 (Vukotic 82', Vujnovic 86') Netherlands 2 (Depay pen 25', 54'): Louis van Gaal's side had looked set to secure progress to Qatar with a game to spare until two goals in the final 10 minutes earned Montenegro a point. Van Gaal said: “We have not performed well, at a stage when we have had it in our hands. I cannot explain it ... we were 2-0 up, and all we had to do was play the ball around. We lost the ball at times when we shouldn't have.” Reuters
November 16, 2021. Netherlands 2 (Bergwijn 84', Depay 90+1') Norway 0: Two late goals from Steven Bergwijn and Memphis Depay sealed the Dutch a place in Qatar after a drab game with neither team prepared to take too many attacking risks. "It's actually been a fantastic week because we got to know each other in lows, but also in highs," said Van Gaal. "I really think they executed the plan brilliantly today." EPA
“In 2014 we came third with a squad that was of lesser quality than this one, and with this group I expect more.”
Senegal manager Aliou Cisse has told his younger players that it is their time to shine in the absence of Mane after the Bayern Munich forward, who has scored 33 goals in 92 internationals, lost his race to recover from a shin injury.
“First of all, I'm sad for the boy, for Sadio Mane, and then for the national team, but of course it's his health that counts,” he said.
“Of course we won't hide the importance of Sadio Mane for the Senegalese team – he's very important, a coach builds his team around his best players.
“But there's also a group here with experienced players, with young players ready to step up. We've had to play matches before without Sadio Mane.”
Krepin Diatta, 23, is one of those who could fill the void left by Mane. “When you talk about the spirit and morale, of course it affects you. He is our best player and a leader,” said the Monaco forward.
“But we are determined to do what we can without him. We are going to have to work harder individually and harder as a team.
“We still have a very strong mentality, we are comfortable being together and we are strong together.”
Senegal players celebrate after their penalty shoot-out win over Egypt that saw them qualify for the World Cup finals in Qatar. EPA
Egypt's Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane of Senegal battle for the ball during the World Cup qualifier at the Diamniadio Olympic Stadium in Dakar on March 29, 2022. EPA
Senegal's Nampalys Mendy under pressure from Omar Marmoush of Egypt. AFP
Senegal's Sadio Mane celebrates after the match. EPA
Senegal's Bouna Sarr passes the ball under pressure from Yasser Ibrahim of Egypt. AFP
Senegal's Saliou Ciss battles with Emam Ashour of Egypt. AFP
Egypt's Mohamed Salah after missing in the shoot-out while Senegal goalkeeper Edouard Mendy celebrates. AP
Senegal's Sadio Mane finishes past Egypt goalkeeper Mohamed El Shennawy in the shoot-out. AP
Egypt's Mohamed Salah under pressure from Saliou Ciss of Senegal. AP