Senegal faced the Netherlands for their opening Group A match of World Cup 2022 at the Al Thumama Stadium in Qatar, which hosts an official capacity of 40,000 spectators.
However, ITV commentator Jon Champion said during the broadcast, that, in the 78th minute of the game, the official attendance for the game is technically "1,700 over capacity", describing it as "creative accounting" from the organisers.
Indeed, the official attendance of the game was given as 41,721. Clearly, the ground was not full either, as Jon Champion and his co-commentator, Ally McCoist, both complained about during the match, stating that it's a shame there were empty sections of the ground and noticeably wasn't full to capacity.
Fans struggled to gain entry to the early kick-off of the day, when England played Iran, and it seems others suffered the same fate for the Netherlands' fixture against Senegal.
The Al Thumama Stadium is a brand new venue specially opened for the World Cup, with work beginning on its construction in 2017. It was inaugurated in October 2021 for the Emir Cup final, and the following month is hosted six matches at the Arab Cup, including the hosts' 2-1 semi-final defeat to Algeria.
The Netherlands' Cody Gakpo and Davy Klaassen both scored during game to give them a 2-0 win over Senegal, a fine header into the net Eduoard Mendy had vacated in an attempt to punch the ball clear, and a follow up strike.
Ecuador beat hosts Qatar 2-0 in the other Group A game of the tournament, leaving the South American side at the top of the standings so far.
