Captain Kalidou Koulibaly’s second-half strike earned Senegal a 2-1 win against Ecuador that sent the African team into the knockout phase of the World Cup for the second time on Tuesday.
Koulibaly fired home from a clearance in the 70th minute, three minutes after Moises Caicedo had cancelled out Ismaila Sarr’s first-half penalty, to put Senegal on six points in Group A, one behind the Netherlands who beat hosts Qatar 2-0.
Ecuador, who needed a draw to qualify for the last 16 for the second time after 2006, end up third on four points after a game played to the relentless beat of the Senegal fans’ drums.
Senegal, who reached the quarter-finals in 2002 in their previous visit of the knockout phase, will face the winners of Group B, which features England, Iran, the United States and Wales.
Senegal find goals despite missing Mane
Much has been made of the absence of Senegal talisman Sadio Mane from this tournament through injury but they have found goals from elsewhere, their five thus far in Qatar all coming from different players.
They found swathes of space in and around the Ecuador area early on as the South Americans began nervily but Everton’s Idrissa Gueye and Boulaye Dia both dragged excellent opportunities wide.
But Sarr, who had missed his two previous penalties for his club, showed composure from the spot to slot his side in front and their heads did not drop even when Caicedo levelled from a corner.
Victory secured a first last-16 appearance since 2002, when they shocked France in the opening game on their way to the quarter-finals and, before the game, Senegal dedicated their efforts to former Fulham and Portsmouth midfielder Papa Bouba Diop – scorer of the famous winner against the French – who died in 2020 aged 42.
They will, however, be without influential midfielder Gueye, who will miss the second round – and what would have been his 100th cap – after he picked up a second yellow card of the tournament.
Entertaining Ecuador suffer stage fright
Many of Ecuador’s players lay prostrate on the pitch at the final whistle, some in tears, devastated at letting slip their chance of progression – like Senegal they had only once previously negotiated the group stages.
They had rightly earned plaudits for their opening two games, having brushed aside Qatar and arguably been the better side in their 1-1 draw with the Dutch – but they failed to reproduce that level of performance under the pressure of a virtual winner-take-all environment.
Boss Gustavo Alfaro risked joint leading World Cup scorer Enner Valencia despite the three-goal forward being taken off on a stretcher late on against the Netherlands, and he failed to make any impact.
The four points they had accrued prior to the game meant Ecuador could play for a draw but they did not look like a side that had kept seven successive clean sheets earlier in 2022 and Senegal took full advantage.
