Senegal 2-1 Ecuador: Elation for victorious Senegal and heartbreak for La Tri
Senegal have qualified for the next stage of the FIFA World Cup after beating Ecuador 2-1 in the final Group A match at the Khalifa International Stadium on Tuesday.
The Senegalese went one goal ahead at halftime after Piero Hincapie charged through Ismaila Sarr in the box and a penalty kick was awarded. Sarr hit his target beautifully to make it 1-0 just before halftime.
A great set-piece in the 63rd minute saw La Tri level things up at 1-1 with a beautiful goal by Moises Caicedo.
Just moments later, a lovely free-kick from Hincapie into the box landed perfectly for captain Kalidou Koulibaly to hit the back of the net and quickly extinguish the fire of Ecuador’s comeback, making it 2-1 and heartbreak for Ecuador.
This was the first time Ecuador have ever played an African team at a World Cup, and Ecuador impressed early in Group A, with a win over Qatar on day one of the tournament, and a 1-1 deadlock against the Netherlands on matchday two.
There were no doubts that La Tri could not do without their star man and tournament top goal scorer Enner Valencia, who was stretchered off in the 1-1 draw against the Netherlands putting his availability for the tie in serious doubt.
Alan Franco and Carlos Gruezo came into midfield as Jackson Porozo is benched with Jhegson Mendez suspended.
The Senegalese once again had to contend without their star man Sadio Mane, but had more or less a full deck of cards to play with heading into the match.
Coach Aliou Cisse’s midfield looked strong with the inclusion of Pathe Ciss in place of striker Famara Diedhiou. This left Boulaye Dia as the lone centre forward.
However Senegal did not quite find the space they needed early in the match and found the task of beating the Netherlands a difficult one.
The first real chance of the game came from Ecuador when Micheal Estrada’s shot was blocked by Kalidou Koulibaly, who had not been kept too busy in the Senegalese defence, in the 27th minute.
A Pathe Ciss header minutes later looked as if it would pull the Senegalese ahead before halftime.
Ecuador made two changes just after halftime, with Brighton’s Jeremy Sarmiento coming on with Alan Franco. Throughout the second half, Sarmiento continued to look dangerous for the Sengelese defence.
From start to finish, the game had a lot of fouls, with 21 fouls for Senegal and 8 for Ecuador. But, being one goal ahead, it did seem like towards the middle of the second half the Senegalese tried to milk as much time as they could when play was stopped.
Senegal changed to a 4-5-1 formation late in the second half, effectively trying to park the bus against the attack of the Ecuadorians. A tactic that seemed to work.
Senegal will start the round of 16 against the winner of Group B England on 4 December. Group A counterparts the Netherlands will face the USA on 3 December.
