ANI
22 Nov 2022, 13:37 GMT+10
Doha [Qatar], November 22 (ANI): Following the win over Senegal in the FIFA World Cup opener, Netherlands manager Louis van Gaal said that he is not satisfied with his side's "shoddy and messy" ball possession.
Late goals from Cody Gakpo and Davy Klaassen guided a spirited Netherlands to a 2-0 victory over Senegal in the Group A match here at Al Thumama Stadium.
"We were shoddy and messy in possession, but we gave away very little," said van Gaal as quoted by Sky Sports.
"We gave away very few chances but I was not satisfied with ball possession on our side - we were inaccurate and ran with the ball too much," he added.
The manager also questioned FIFA on their decision to stop captains, including Virgil van Dijk of the Dutch side, from wearing the 'One Love' armband to give out a message of anti-discrimination and support for the LGBTQ community.
"I do not want to answer political questions but one thing is clear - we are not going to wear an armband if we are going to get a yellow card. We need to ask if this is a correct act on behalf of FIFA. All of us need to ask if this is a proper act - this is crystal clear," he added.
The Dutch were playing their first World Cup match since 2014, failing to qualify for the tournament's previous edition in Russia in 2018.
The contest was tight and the two teams were unable to score for most part of the match. The teams made several moves but each time the ball missed the goal or was put out.
The breakthrough came for the Netherlands in the 84th minute through a strike by Cody Gakpo.
The Netherlands had an opportunity to take the lead in the sixth minute as Cody Gakpo passed the ball to teammate Steven Bergwijn whose attempt was blocked.
Dutch midfielder Frenkie de Jong failed to capitalize on another chance in the 18th minute.
The Netherlands failed to convert their chances into the goal and the first half ended in a deadlock. While the Dutch team seemed to have an edge in the first half, it looked to have lost some steam in the second half.
Cody Gakpo's goal was also a result of poor goalkeeping by Eduard Mendy as he went out to punch the ball and completely missed it. Gakpo's header was on target as the Netherlands opened their account.
In the stoppage time, Memphis Depay's shot forced Edouard Mendy to parry to Davy Klaassen, who provided a comfortable tap-in to make it 2-0 for Netherlands.
The Dutch are on top of Group A with Ecuador, who scored a 2-0 win over Qatar in the tournament's opening match on Sunday.
There was not much to choose from in terms of ball possession as the Netherlands had 53 per cent in comparison to Senegal which had 47. Senegal had four shots on target while the Netherlands had only three. (ANI)
Get a daily dose of Sierra Leone Times news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Sierra Leone Times.
More InformationCANBERRA, Australia: Defense Minister Richard Marles told Nine Network television on September 29 that after a crash in July that ...
AMSTERDAM, The Netherlands: This week, Dutch competition regulator, the ACM, rejected an appeal by Apple against fines worth €50 million. ...
TOKYO, Japan: Tokyo-based startup Tsubame Industries has developed a four-wheeled robot that resembles the "Mobile Suit Gundam" from the popular ...
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - According to The News, the federal government is considering selling its stake in the Reko Diq project ...
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - U.S. stocks tumbled on Tuesday as interest rates on 10 and 30-year Treasury yields approached ...
DUBLIN, Ireland: The chief medical officer has issued a stark warning regarding the alarming levels of cannabis consumption in Ireland, ...
TRIPOLI, Libya: Italy and Libya resumed commercial flights for the first time in ten years on September 30, with flight ...
DUBAI, 4th October, 2023 (WAM) - In the presence of more than 1000 industry leaders and changemakers from across 30 ...
ABUJA, NIGERIA - Nigerian authorities are investigating the deaths of at least 15 people in the explosion of an illegally ...
Crude flows on average were roughly 3.3 million barrels a day for the past four weeks, tanker-tracking data showsRussian seaborne ...
(Photo credit: David Yeazell-USA TODAY Sports) The Sanderson Farms Championship is the second of seven events in the FedEx Cup ...
© Provided by Xinhua GENEVA, Oct. 4 (Xinhua) -- The 2030 World Cup will be played in the six countries ...