Ecuador and the Netherlands, leaders of Group A of the Qatar 2022 World Cup with 4 units, tied this Friday 1-1 at the Khalifa International Stadium in Doha and will define their qualification for the final phase on the last date.
In a game that had a ticket to the round of 16 for the winner, the Dutch took the lead after 6 minutes with a goal from Cody Gakpo and the Ecuadorians reached equality after 4 minutes of the second through Enner Valencia, who left the court on a stretcher.
GREAT GOAL FROM THE NETHERLANDS!
Van Gaal’s men struck from the locker room with a kick from Gakpo. La Naranja beats Ecuador 1-0.#TyCSportsWorld pic.twitter.com/p62drTsn7I
— TyC Sports (@TyCSports) November 25, 2022
The selected of the Argentine Gustavo Alfaro will resolve his round pass in a one-on-one with Senegal (3), next Tuesday at this same stadium, and the Netherlands will do so against the eliminated Qatar at Al Baytboth from noon in Argentina.
In the initial part, the South American team paid a high price for a ball sold in the setback, which the PSV Eindhoven winger billed with a left-footed shot from mid-distance, after looking for space for the shot.
This situation was the only one that the Dutch team had in that period, dominated by Ecuador with a neat treatment of the ball and a measured posture on the field of play, without neglecting the backs of their midfielders so as not to leave the defenders exposed.
In that careful search, Enner Valencia had two chances with a forehand deflected by goalkeeper Andries Noppert and an imperfect header from a set piece.
Although the closest he felt to the tie was in the added minute, when Pervis Estupiñán deflected the ball from a second corner kick and the Algerian Mustapha Ghorbal annulled the conquest due to an improper position by Jackson Porozo.
Alfaro went to the locker room with anger and a feeling similar to that of his debut with Qatar, after which he questioned FIFA’s arbitration for the singularity to determine some advanced positions.
ECUADOR EQUATED IT!
Enner Valencia stamped the 1-1 against the Netherlands. Great match at the Khalifa Stadium.#TyCSportsWorld pic.twitter.com/jV7faLR8AG
— TyC Sports (@TyCSports) November 25, 2022
Luckily for Ecuador, the revenge came quickly and, this time, without a doubt. A weak management of the Netherlands’ exit left Estupiñán with an alley towards the area and his shot bounced by the goalkeeper was opportunistically captured by Valencia, the top scorer in the World Cup with 3 goals.
The captain enlarged his stat as the greatest historical scorer of the “Tri” with 38 conquests in 76 games, which yields a respectable average of half a goal per game.
After the tie, the Ecuadorian public rose to the cry of “Yes, we can!” and Alfaro’s team persisted in the search for the goal to qualify for the round of 16, which Gonzalo Plata scored with a left-footed shot off the crossbar after 14 minutes.
Simultaneously with the Argentine coach’s request to accentuate the intensity, the Netherlands produced parsimonious movements to build the play, with Louis Van Gaal and his entire staff sitting on the substitute bench.
Alfaro almost got into the field when Félix Torres wanted to leave the goal with a dominated ball and the admitted Memphis Depay blocked his pass centimeters from the six-yard box.
The loss of precision in Ecuador was manifested as an impediment to keep the game on the right ground. The Netherlands, without too many difficulties, got out of trouble and with the subsequent changes, in both teams, the game lowered its flame.
So that The definition of the qualifying positions was left for the last date, in which Alfaro’s team will assume a qualifying match with Senegal.
