Table of Contents
The United States fought out a 1-1 draw against Wales and Netherlands earned a victory against Senegal in their Group A World Cup opener. If you missed out on all the action, we got you!
The rundown: Senegal vs Netherland
A late goal by Cody Gakpo and a 99th-minute substitute by Davy Klaassen gave the Netherlands a 2-0 victory over Senegal in their World Cup 2022 opener and placed them in a strong position to advance from Group A as winners. Check our full World Cup 2022 fixtures Singapore time schedule to not miss any of the future matches.
The game between the two best teams in the group was going nowhere until Gakpo sprang above Edouard Mendy to head home Frenkie De Jong’s cross.
In the 9th minute of stoppage time, Memphis Depay had a poor shot that Chelsea’s goalkeeper only managed to deflect further into the direction of fellow Dutch sub Davy Klaassen, who swept home the game-winning goal with a powerful volley.
Player of the game: Cody Gakpo
Gakpo made a timely run and finished off a Frenkie de Jong cross with a header, and then Klaassen touched in the winning WorldCup22 goal deep in stoppage time to ice the game.
After four minutes, Gakpo got their first opportunity but instead of going for the goal, the player with 3 goals in his recent 4 internationals tried to pass the ball to Steven Bergwijn.
After a stellar season with PSV, Cody Gakpo gained national attention in England when he became a target for a transfer to Manchester United, Leeds, and Southampton during the summer transfer window. He leads the Eredivisie in both assists and goals this season, so clubs like Leeds and Southampton should expect calls when the transfer window reopens in the new year.
Senegal v Senegal final score
| Team | 1H | 2H | Final |
| Senegal | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Netherlands | 0 | 2 | 2 |
Without Sadio Mane, their star player, and leading scorer, Senegal lacked bite in the attack. Mane had to withdraw from the competition due to knee surgery. In fact, taking a close look at our World Cup betting odds for 2022, Senegal’s odds are nowhere near as good as Netherland’s.
The rundown: USA v Wales
With Timothy Weah scoring early, the Welsh appeared doomed in their first tournament appearance in 64 years. Bale, their star player, ultimately prevailed and converted the penalty kick to gain the team a crucial point in Group B.
Thanks to our World Cup 2022 free livestream, many fans have witnessed how the United States started strong. The team nearly gained the advantage in nine minutes when Joe Rodon headed the ball into his own net before Wayne Hennessey made a diving save.
On 36 minutes, Weah finally broke through when Christian Pulisic found room on the left side and slipped a pass in behind for him to cleverly poke past Hennessey and through the bottom corner. After a dismal first half, Wales manager Rob Page replaced the unproductive Dan James with Kieffer Moore.
Player of the game: Gareth Bale
Even though Tyler Adams did a fantastic job, the game changed thanks to the efforts of Gareth Bale and Kieffer Moore. In spite of being on the periphery for the majority of the game, Bale proved once again why he is the legitimate superstar of Wales by producing another clutch performance.
His collection so far this year is impressive, and now he’s added a goal from the penalty spot after USA defender Walker Zimmerman made a silly mistake. In order to counteract Timothy Weah’s quick start and give Wales the advantage.
After Turner ran out of his goal, Bale didn’t miss a beat, and deep into the nine minutes of overtime, he felt like an unlikely winner but was fouled as he wound up shooting from midfield.
USA v Wales final score
| Team | 1H | 2H | Final |
| USA | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Wales | 0 | 1 | 1 |
The match wasn’t particularly gorgeous but wasn’t terrible either. Nonetheless, the World Cup opener for Wales and USA was enjoyable to watch. The last minutes of the game devolved into chaos as the contest turned into a track meet, leaving players on both teams completely spent.
Overall, it’s a reasonable outcome that gives both teams a good shot at qualifying provided they get their acts together.
Don’t forget that Solarbet is offering amazing free World Cup bets for all of your favorite teams! Don’t miss any matches with its free livestream service, too!