FIFA World Cup 2022: Ecuador vs Senegal 1-2 Report

 Senegal advances to round of 16 with victory over Ecuador

Senegal qualified for the round of 16 of the World Cup after beating Ecuador 2-1 at the Khalifa International Stadium.

Kalidou Koulibaly’s superb strike 20 minutes from time earned him three key points in this winner-takes-all Group A encounter.

That means Senegal overtook Ecuador in second place, finishing six points behind the Netherlands.

The Teranga Lions will now face the Group B winners, to be determined later in the night, and could still be one of four teams in the section.

After a dominant first-half display, Senegal suffered a minor shock when they were sent off midway through the second half, but wasted no time in regaining the lead and then held on for a stunning victory.

It is only the second time that Senegal have advanced to the group stage of the World Cup, the last time in 2002, when they reached the quarter-finals.

It ended the horrors of 2018 when they were knocked out at this stage on fair play after finishing with an identical record in Japan.

Aliou Cissé made some changes to his Senegal squad as a more cautious approach was implemented after the Qatar game, with forwards Famara Diedhiou and Krepin Diatta replacing Iliman Ndiaye and retaining midfielder Pathe Ciss.

However, this did not affect their attacking power in the first half as they still created plenty of chances, with Ecuador barely threatening Edouard Mendy’s goal in the first half.

Idrissa Gueye and Boulaye Dia were to blame for the missed chances in the opening eight minutes, but the pressure continued to mount on the Ecuadorian goal as the half-time progressed.

Senegal finally took the lead just before half-time when Piero Hincapie brought down Ismaila Sarr in the penalty area and French referee Clément Turpin awarded the penalty.

Sarr got up to take the penalty and calmly passed Hernan Galindez into the bottom right corner.

In the second half, Senegal looked happy to hold on to what they had and, while Equateur still didn’t threaten, Cissé’s side were beaten by a ball.

After Felix Torres’s corner, Moises Caicedo was left alone at the back post with the simpler task of passing the ball past Mendy for the tie.

Ecuador would have been in the lead for just two minutes when the African side regained their lead from a set-piece after Enner Valencia failed to clear Gueye’s dangerous tackle, giving Koulibaly the chance to hit from close range.

Despite betting everything on the Senegalese goal in the last quarter, Ecuador failed once again and suffered a defeat, suffering an elimination when they needed only one match point to go through.

Senegal now have a knockout tie ahead of them and, with England favorites to be their next opponents, further progress in this tournament will bring to an end what has already been a historic year for the national team, which began with the title triumph. of the African Cup of Nations.

Lineups:

Ecuador Replacements: Arboleda, Cifuentes, Pacho, Ayrton Preciado, Ibarra, Ramirez, Arreaga, Mena, Sarmiento, Palacios, Dominguez, Reasco, Porozo, Rodriguez

Senegal Replacements: S. Dieng, F. Mendy, Cisse, N. Mendy, Jackson, N’Diaye, Ballo-Toure, Diatta, P. Sarr, Diedhiou, B. Dieng, Gomis, Name, Loum

Scorers:

Yellow Cards: