Senegal faced the Netherlands for their opening Group A game of the 2022 World Cup at the Al Thumama Stadium in Qatar, which hosts an official capacity of 40,000 spectators.
However, ITV commentator Jon Champion said on the show that by the 78th minute of the game the official match attendance is technically “1,700 overcapacity”, describing it as “creative accounting” on the part of the players. organizers.
Indeed, the official attendance for the game was 41,721. Obviously the pitch wasn’t full either, as Jon Champion and his co-commentator, Ally McCoist, both complained during the game, stating that It’s a shame that there were empty sections of the pitch and it was obviously not full to capacity.
Fans struggled to get in at the start of the day when England played Iran, and it seems others suffered the same fate for the Netherlands game against Senegal .
Al Thumama Stadium is a brand new venue specially opened for the World Cup, work on which began in 2017. It was inaugurated in October 2021 for the Emir Cup final, and the following month hosts six matches of the Cup Arab, including the hosts’ 2-1 semi-final loss to Algeria.
Dutchmen Cody Gakpo and Davy Klaassen both scored during the game to give them a 2-0 victory over Senegal, a fine header into the net which Eduoard Mendy had vacated in an attempt to clear the ball, and a strike from followed.
Ecuador beat Qatar 2-0 in the tournament’s other Group A game, leaving the South American side at the top of the standings so far.
