Qatar vs Senegal: Preview

The second round of group-stage matches begins on Friday when Qatar and Senegal face off at the Al Thumama Stadium.

Both the host nation and Senegal lost their Group A openers by a score of 2-0, and both teams will be aiming to get their World Cup campaigns back on track.
When Qatar lost to Ecuador 2-0 on Sunday, they made history as the first World Cup host nation to drop their first match.

Enner Valencia put on a performance worthy of man of the match honours by scoring both goals to give the South American country all three points. Prior to then, Qatar had won four straight games while scoring six goals and only giving up one.

Meanwhile, Senegal was left fuming as the Netherlands defeated them 2-0 on Monday with to late goals from Cody Gakpo and Davy Klaassen. With the exception of their 1-0 victory against Guinea in the 2022 Africa Nations Championship in August, the Lions of Teranga have already dropped two of their previous three competitive games.

In the most recent FIFA World Rankings, Senegal is ranked 18th in the world, and they will be confident going up against Qatar, who are ranked 32 places lower.