Kalidou Koulibaly (fake images)
Kalidou Koulibaly sent Senegal into the World Cup round of 16 for the second time in their history with the winner in Tuesday’s dramatic 2-1 win over Ecuador.
The Netherlands’ dominating victory over Qatar meant that just a win would see Senegal through to the last 16 of Group A, while Ecuador would have progressed with a draw.
Senegal opened the scoring through an Ismaila Sarr penalty late in the first half, but despite managing to keep Ecuador captain Enner Valencia calm, Brighton’s Moises Caicedo equalized on 67 minutes before Koulibaly sent his team and Ecuador at home.
Senegal manager Aliou Cissé promised before the game that his seasoned side would “not think too much” about the occasion and it was the Africans who opened the game with fury, with Everton’s Idrissa Gana Gueye lobbing the ball just outside the open goal. after only three minutes.
Less than a minute later, Ecuadorian goalkeeper Hernán Galíndez needed to rescue his team’s high back line, sliding in to stifle a counter-attack outside his box.
In the 10th minute, Senegal’s Boulaye Dia found himself one-on-one with Galíndez, but sliced the ball off the post.
Seemingly buoyed by Senegal’s ferocious opening, Ecuador pushed forward and won a free kick 30 meters from goal, with the South Americans seizing the opportunity for a rare breather before Valencia smashed the ball into the wall.
After the initial furious exchanges, both teams began to settle and the first half appeared to end goalless before Ecuadorian defender Piero Hincapie hit Sarr, giving referee Clement Turpin no choice but to signal the penalty spot.
Sarr stepped forward and coolly dispatched a fine penalty kick past Galíndez, keeping eye contact with the goalkeeper as the ball went in.
Ecuador started the second half fresher and more determined, perhaps certain that the Netherlands’ dominance over Qatar meant they only needed a draw to go through.
From a free kick, defender Félix Torres rose high to head off Caicedo, who was waiting at the far post and headed in.
Senegal struck back immediately and in almost identical fashion, with Koulibaly lurking unmarked at the far post after a free kick was deflected his way by Hincapie.
Coming into the match with a yellow card, Gueye received a second-half booking and will miss Senegal’s round of 16 game against the Group B winners.
Holland says goodbye sorry Qatar
Cody Gakpo scored again as the Netherlands booked their place in the World Cup round of 16 as group winners with a 2-0 outright victory over hosts Qatar on Tuesday.
Needing just one point to be sure of progress, the Netherlands set foot in the next round within the first half hour when Gakpo scored for the third successive group game.
Frenkie de Jong added another in the 49th minute as the Dutch crossed in a flat environment at Al Bayt Stadium.
Qatar, already eliminated before kick-off, suffered the ignominy of becoming the first home team in World Cup history to finish the group stage without a point.
Louis van Gaal’s Dutch team finished top of Group A with seven points, while Senegal joined them in the round of 16 as runners-up after beating Ecuador 2-1.
The Oranje will take on the second-seeded group from Group B for a spot in the quarterfinals at the Khalifa International Stadium on Saturday.
England currently top that section and take on Wales later on Tuesday, while the United States plays Iran. The four teams continue in the search for qualification.
The Dutch are off to a solid start as they look to put the disappointment of failing to qualify for the 2018 World Cup in Russia behind them.
Qatar said goodbye to their long-awaited World Cup home with a groan, securing their place in the record books as the worst hosts on the pitch.
Van Gaal was able to give Memphis Depay his first start at the tournament as the Barcelona star continued his return to top form after a hamstring injury.
It didn’t take long for the Dutch to break through the Qatar defence, though Daley Blind was only able to deflect a four-minute attempt straight at goalkeeper Meshaal Barsham.
The opening goal came in the 26th minute when Davy Klaassen played for Gakpo after some fine play that also involved Depay.
The PSV Eindhoven winger stepped up and drilled a low shot into the bottom corner from the edge of the box to score his third goal of the tournament.
The three-time world runner-up took advantage of Qatar’s poor defense to double their lead four minutes after the break.
Depay was parried point-blank by Barsham, but De Jong reacted faster than a heavy Pedro Miguel to tuck the ball in from just one yard out.
Substitute Steven Berghuis thought he had added a third midway through the second half, only to have his goal disallowed after VAR verified a handball by Gakpo in build-up.
There was a brief excitement for the rest of the home fans later when Mohammed Muntari pushed the ball into the net, but the whistle had long since been a foul on Virgil van Dijk.
The Netherlands came close to inflicting more misery on Qatar in stoppage time when Berghuis’ excellent curling shot from distance hit the crossbar.
