Qatar vs Senegal: Predicted lineup, injury news, head-to-head

The two teams will be looking for their first win of the tournament.

Qatar and Senegal will play each other on Friday at the Al Thumama Stadium. Both teams are looking for their first FIFA World Cup 2022 win. In the first game of the World Cup, the hosts Qatar lost to Ecuador 2-0, which was the worst thing that could have happened. The Asian champions were outplayed the whole game and didn't look like they belonged on the world's biggest stage.

Senegal also lost to the Netherlands by a score of 2-0. Cody Gakpo and Davy Klassen scored late goals to give the Dutch all three points. The African champions played just as well as the European champions for most of the game, but Edouard Mendy made two mistakes in the goal.

Both teams lost their previous games, which put them behind in Group A. This made Friday's game a must-win for both teams. Both teams are already playing catch-up, but they would still have everything to play for if they both won their last group games.

Khel Now tells you everything you need to know about the game before it starts.

Qatar vs Senegal: Head to head

This will be the first time that the two groups meet abroad. With their loss to Ecuador, Qatar lost for the first time in four games. Senegal has not won either of its last two games.

Qatar form guide: L-W-W-W-W

Senegal form guide: L-D-W-W-W

Team News 

Qatar's first game of the World Cup was against Ecuador on Sunday. In goal for Qatar, Saad Al Sheeb had a terrible start. The goalie didn't do himself any favours in the first three minutes when he flapped at a free kick. Enner Valencia's header in the lead-up was called offside, which saved the goalie's face. He wasn't so lucky later in half, though, when he took out Valencia and gave away a penalty. Manager Felix Sanchez may look at other goalkeepers before his team's next game.

Without their star player Sadio Mane, who was hurt, Senegal seemed to lack firepower in the final third against the Netherlands, and Aliou Cisse may be thinking about making some changes in attack. Edouard Mendy, the goalie for Chelsea, had a tough night in that game and could have done better for both goals. But Mendy's track record at the top level makes it likely that he will keep his starting spot for now.

Qatar became the first World Cup host nation to lose its opening game and the first in 52 years not to score. Senegal had 15 shots against the Netherlands, the second-most after 26 against Sweden in 2022. Teranga Lions conceded with their first shot on target against Oranje, while Qatar had none against Ecuador.

If the Netherlands beats Ecuador and the hosts lose to Senegal, they might be eliminated. They want to avoid becoming the second host nation eliminated in the group stage following South Africa in 2010.

Senegal, Africa's highest-ranked team (18th), hasn't kept a clean sheet in eight World Cup matches. Ismaila Sarr took three shots and created four chances for his team against the Netherlands. Qatar was the first host not to test the opposing goalie since the USA against Brazil in 1994.

Predicted Line-ups

Qatar Starting 11 (3-5-2): Al-Sheeb; Al-Rawi, Khoukhi, A. Hassan; Miguel, Hatem, Al-Haydos, Boudiaf, Ahmed; Afif, Ali

Senegal Starting 11 (4-3-3): E. Mendy; Sabaly, Koulibaly, Cisse, Jakobs; P. Sarr, N. Mendy, I. Gueye; I. Sarr, Dia, Diatta

Players to Watch

Al Haydos

Al-Haydos made his Olympic debut with Qatar in 2007 when he scored a late goal against Japan to help his team win 2-1. Haydos also played against Saudi Arabia and Vietnam in the second half, where he scored. He was the team's captain in the qualifiers for the 2012 Summer Olympics and scored against India.

He played in all of the group-stage games and scored against Oman and Saudi Arabia after Saleh Badr set him up. This gave Qatar hope that it could qualify for the Olympics. Al-Haydos played his first game for the Qatar national team on September 10, 2008, when they played Bahrain. Since then, he has played 146 times for Qatar and scored 32 goals, making him the country's most-capped player and fourth-highest goalscorer.

Édouard Osoque Mendy

Mendy comes from both Senegal and Bissau-Guinea. In November 2016, he played for Guinea-Bissau in Belem and Estoril. Mendy played for Bissau-Guinea so that he could honour his dying father. Guinea-Bissau wanted him to play for them in the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations, he chose to play for Senegal instead.

Mendy played his first game for Senegal in November 2018 against Equatorial Guinea. Mendy is a regular starter for Senegal since the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations. In group play, Senegal beat Tanzania 2–0 and lost to Algeria 1-0. He hurt his finger in the group stage of Senegal's last match against Kenya. Algeria defeated Senegal 1–0.

Mendy is on Senegal's team for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations. Senegal beat Zimbabwe 1–0 on January 10. They got to the semifinals with the help of Mendy. Senegal won its first African Cup of Nations when Mendy blocked one of Mohanad Lasheen's penalty kicks and stopped another. As the best goalkeeper in the tournament, he kept four clean sheets.

Match Prediction

In the first set of group games, both teams lost by a score of 2-0. But Senegal may have played better teams and has players who have proven themselves at a higher club level, even without Sadio Mane, their star player and national hero.

Qatar did not play well in their first World Cup game, and it doesn't look like that will change.

Prediction: Senegal will beat Qatar 1-0