Qatar 2022: Koulibaly leads Senegal into Round 16
Kalidou Koulibaly's excellent volley 20 minutes from time clinched a vital win in this winner-takes-all encounter in Group A.
Reigning African champions, Senegal are in cloud nine after they sealed their place in the World Cup last 16 after beating Ecuador 2-1 at the Khalifa International Stadium.
Kalidou Koulibaly's excellent volley 20 minutes from time clinched a vital win in this winner-takes-all encounter in Group A.
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— George Addo Jnr (@addojunr) November 29, 2022
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It means that they leapfrog Ecuador into second place, finishing on six points behind the Netherlands.
The Lions of Teranga will now face the winners of Group B which will be settled later on this evening, and it could still be any one of the four sides in the section.
After a dominant display in the first half, Senegal was given a minor shock when they were pegged back midway through the second half, but wasted no time in re-taking the lead, and then held on for a fantastic victory.
It is just the second time that Senegal have made it through the group stage at the World Cup, with the last occasion coming in 2002 when they would go on to reach the quarter-final.
It has eliminated the horrors of 2018 when they were knocked out at this stage on the fair play rule after finishing with an identical record to Japan.
Aliou Cisse made a few changes to his Senegalese side, as a more cautious approach was implemented following their game against Qatar, with attackers Famara Diedhiou and Krepin Diatta both making way for Iliman Ndiaye and holding midfielder Pathe Ciss.
That did not affect the potency of their offensive display in the first half though, as they still created numerous chances with Ecuador hardly threatening Edouard Mendy's goal at all in the first half.
Idrissa Gueye and Boulaye Dia were both guilty of missing gilt-edged chances inside the opening eight minutes, but the pressure continued to rise on the Ecuador goal as the half went on.
Senegal eventually took the lead shortly before half time, when Piero Hincapie barged Ismaila Sarr down in the penalty area, with French referee Clement Turpin subsequently pointing to the spot.
Sarr picked himself up to take the penalty, and calmly slotted it beyond Hernan Galindez into the bottom right-hand corner.
In the second half, Senegal seemed content with holding what they had, and while Ecuador were still showing little threat, Cisse's side were undone by a set piece.
After Felix Torres' flick on from a corner, Moises Caicedo was left all on his own at the back post with the most simple of tasks to slide the ball beyond Mendy for the equaliser.
