World Cup 2022: Stark Reality Facing Hosts

Qatar vs Senegal

Lose this and your World Cup 2022 is over.

That is the reality facing the competition hosts, Qatar, and Africa’s finest, Senegal, on the eve of their second group game.

Whatever World Cup 2022 highlights may be produced in the Al Thumama Stadium on Friday afternoon, defeat will mean an early exit, no sooner has the tournament begun.

Talking Points

Based on what I’ve witnessed and read so far, I am backing Senegal all the way.

For the African champions showed enough to suggest they can progress from Group A if they put their shooting boots on and cut out the errors which cost them dearly in the closing stages against Holland on Monday.

Yes, they suffered a pre-tournament blow when their talisman, Sadio Mane, was ruled out, a key figure when they qualified for Qatar by winning their group and then beating Egypt in a play-off.

However, the reigning Afcon champions have great ambitions for the World Cup and want to end an already good year on a high.

They have other big names too, not least Chelsea defender Kalidou Koulibaly who is arguably the best defender in Africa, even if his first few months in west London have produced a mixed set of performances as he settles into the English Premier League.

I believe they will simply have too much quality for the hosts who, despite being together in camp for the last six months to prepare for the tournament and work on tactics, were totally outplayed in their Group A opener against Ecuador.

So nervous and disjointed was the performance that many supporters who had left the stadium at the interval did not return, leaving the ground around half-empty for much of the second period.

Felix Sánchez may have fostered a club spirit but there is a complete lack of top-level pedigree at his disposal and, while his stint as a former Barcelona youth coach offers some credentials, perhaps the fact he has never coached a club first team tells its own story.

Key members of his team have emerged from the Aspire Academy and, the fact the Qatar Stars League has been on pause since mid-September to allow the national team to participate in an intensive pre-tournament training camp, doesn’t appear to have helped either.

One of the weaknesses highlighted by pundits has been Qatar’s physicality and how they have been outmuscled on a number of occasions.

That was evident in their opener against Ecuador when the Asian champions offered no threat in the final third and were unable to test Ecuador goalkeeper Hernan Galindez once.

So much rests on the shoulders of Al Duhail’s Bassam al-Rawi as the central pillar of the defence but his head could also turn out to be crucial. The centre-back is a big set-piece threat and that will be a route to goal for the hosts.

It is unfair to put such pressure on one man though.

South Africa have been the only hosts not to make it out of the group in 2010, but Qatar could follow as the second with two difficult games left to play.

In fact, I think it is certain,

History

This will be the first-ever match between these two nations and its importance is clear. Certainly, the defeated side will be all but out of the World Cup.

Betting Tip

The question you ask yourself is a simple one, would Qatar have qualified for the World Cup if they were not hosts?

I don’t think so and neither do the SBOTOP World Cup 2022 betting odds, given they are big underdogs in this encounter.

For Qatar to even claim a draw, then odds of 1X2 @ 3.80 are available with the home nation priced 1X2 @ 5.00 and Asian Handicap +0.50 @ 2.38.

Senegal are firm favourites, both 1X2 @ -1.65 and Asian Handicap -1.00 @ 2.17.

I do not think this will be goalless, and neither do any of my colleagues given Correct Score 0-0 and total goal 0-1 are on offer @ 7.00 and @ 2.61 respectively.

I simply cannot see past a Senegal victory and my three-star prediction is for the Africans to lead at both half-time and full-time.

 

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