Chelsea goalkeeper Edouard Mendy was supposed to be one of the bright spots of this Senegal team. In fact the back line for Senegal was touted as the strength of the team heading into the tournament. Particularly with the injury to striker Sadio Mané which forced him to miss the World Cup. However, Mendy may have had a hand in the 2 Netherlands goals that caused the team to lose their first game of the tournament. The loss certainly puts Senegal’s hopes of moving onto the next round in jeopardy. Particularly because Ecuador looked superb in their opener. Was Mendy largely to blame for the loss though?
The First Goal Is A Tough One For Any Goalkeeper
A lot of people are going to be quick to blame Mendy for the first goal of the match. However, the Frankie de Jong ball found Gakpo in a perfect spot to be able to head the ball over Mendy who was coming out to try and make a play on the ball. Could Mendy have done more to get to the ball before Gakpo did? You could make the argument that he’s a bit too far back in the goal when the lob pass comes in. However, as previously described it seems like the ball just comes down perfectly.
The problem with a lot of these frontal lobs is that when they dip in front of the goalkeeper you don’t have any real advantage over the offensive player other than maybe the fact that you’re looking at everything in front of you while the offensive player has his back towards the goal. The defense’s failed offside trap though could be more to blame for that first goal. The Senegal defense just stood around and watched Gakpo run into the box and make a play on the ball.
The Second Goal Is All On Mendy
The second goal is one that Mendy has to be able to contain or deflect much better than he did. A lot of times these types of second chance goals come about because the goalkeeper is unsure if he wants to catch the first shot cleanly or deflect the ball away. When that happens, ultimately they don’t deflect the shot with enough force and direction to not allow the offensive player to have a clear second chance opportunity.
It’s unfortunate that one of the players that was touted as one of the best on the team heading into the tournament had such an off game to begin the cup. There’s a reason though that Kepa is seeing more time at Chelsea this season than he had before. A lot of these mistakes are more of a constant with Mendy than some people want to admit.
Senegal’s Route To The Second Round Is Very Complicated
With the loss Senegal pretty much has to beat both Ecuador and Qatar in their next 2 games to be able to make it out of the first round. Ecuador is looking like a team that will be tough to handle for anyone. Senegal is not going to have any type of physical advantage over Ecuador. Today that speed on the counter that we sort of expected from Senegal was just not there. There’s no question that Ecuador would potentially be the favorite in their matchup which is set to take place on the third matchday. The good thing for Senegal is that they get to regroup with a game against Qatar or Friday, which they should win. From there, they’ll potentially get a chance to play Ecuador for all the marbles. So although it’s not an ideal start, all hope should not be lost. They need to find some type of consistent offensive threat, and sure up the back line.
