THE NETHERLANDS' DRAW WITH ECUADOR KNOCKS OUT HOSTS QATAR FROM THE TOURNAMENT AFTER THEY LOST TO SENEGAL
With a 1-1 tie against the Netherlands, Ecuador striker Enner Valencia eliminated Qatar from the World Cup. Qatar has been eliminated from the World Cup just five days after the competition began in its home country. Both Dutch and Ecuador earned one point apiece in Friday's draw, moving them both to four points. Both Qatar's matches against Ecuador and Senegal have ended in defeat. With his 49th-minute leveler against the Dutch, Valencia became the top scorer at this World Cup with his third goal. The 33-year-old veteran has also scored all six Ecuador goals at World Cups since the 2014 competition.
It was Ecuador who dominated for much of the game after Cody Gakpo fired a rising shot from the edge of the penalty area, which gave the Dutch an early lead in the sixth minute. There have been no other fast goals scored in Qatar so far. Ecuador equalized against the odds after Valencia passed the ball into an empty net after Pervis Estupinan's shot had been blocked by goalkeeper Andries Noppert. A collective goal celebration was held by almost the entire Ecuador team in honor of their inspirational captain. Their kneeling together in a circle pointing to the night sky created a powerful image of unity.
Gonzalo Plata nearly scored Ecuador's winning goal minutes later when his rising left-foot shot rattled the Netherlands crossbar. On Tuesday, Ecuador will play Senegal, requiring just a draw to advance; the Netherlands will face Qatar. There is a possibility that Ecuador may have to do without Valencia. A stretcher was used to remove him from the field in the 90th minute. Despite the injury, he was able to get up and walk to the bench where a bag of ice was taped to his right leg. It is unfortunate that Ecuador players were enraged by the disallowance of a possible leveling goal at the end of the first half, but the Dutch managed to maintain their first-half lead effectively without making another attempt at goal.
It was ruled that Jackson Porozo stood offside when Estupinan deflected the ball into the net through a crowded goalmouth, blocking goalkeeper Noppert's view of the original shot. As a result of some poor play by the Dutch defense, Estupinan was once again directly involved in the valid goal which was scored after Noppert had almost been caught in possession before weakly clearing the ball. A seven-game winning streak at World Cup group stages ended with this draw. Until Gakpo's goal, Ecuador had played over 11 hours without conceding a goal, including seven clean sheets, since March 1, when Argentina scored in a 1-1 World Cup qualifying match.
As Virgil van Dijk admitted afterward, "They had a few biters, guys who were hot on your heels," making it difficult for Louis van Gaal's side to settle into their slick passing technique. Despite this, Ecuador coach Gustavo Alfaro was optimistic. The reason we didn't win was that we didn't finish some chances, the opportunities that we got, we had to score," he said. Nevertheless, I'm proud to lead this young, talented team. We're up for it." Van Gaal said: "I think we didn't make a good match. "We experienced difficulties with ball possession in our first match." Throughout the match, Ecuador won all the second balls and duels. In the midfield, we have several options, and I can try them out. Whether we will make it is not guaranteed, but I believe so. Our team is focused on (keeping) possession.
