Kalidou Koulibaly proved to be a winner as Senegal reached the knockout stages of the World Cup with a 2-1 win over Ecuador, which is eliminated from the tournament.
Senegal will now face the winners of Group B, England’s most sensible organisation lately, on Sunday night.
The Chelsea defender’s very good winning volley came here just two minutes after Moises Caicedo equalized Ecuador from a corner, a result that would have allowed the South Americans to pass into place.
The African team fully deserved to qualify from its World Cup organization for the first time in 20 years, thanks in large part to a first-half performance that left Ecuador speechless, who entered the game knowing they only needed one point to progress.
It wasn’t until the last minute of the first era that Senegal’s dominance counted, when Ismaila Sarr was fouled in the box before beating Hernan Galindez with a bit of luck from 12 yards.
Although Caicedo briefly gave Ecuador hope midway through the halfway point, it was a brief respite with Senegal, who remained the most damaging team even after Koulibaly’s goal, and Edouard Mendy’s goal was quiet as they came to a knockout draw with the Group B winners.
The form had Ecuador as the slight favorite to advance, having drawn with the Netherlands in a game they may have won smoothly, and needing just one point to succeed at the back 16 for the first time since 2006.
A strangely enthusiastic game plan proved to be their undoing, with Idrissa Gueye without a good first chance for Senegal after Sarr exploited Ecuador’s attacking full-backs and galloped down the wing.
Less than 10 minutes had passed when Senegal could have had a two-goal lead, with Boulaye Dia firing past a free kick after Ecuador failed to clear their lines.
Eventually, the South Americans regained some composure but found themselves behind before the break when Sarr flew past Felix Torres and was brought down by Piero Hincapie, who discovered his head in his hands as the Watford winger then scored insistently from 12 yards.
Ecuador made two changes at half-time and, with a relief in a much needed way, nevertheless began to control the speed of the game. It still took only about 25 minutes to break a tenacious Senegalese line, when Caicedo crouched down. to take Torres’ film back to a corner.
After waiting so long to repair his qualifying hopes, he threw them overboard in a matter of seconds. Koulibaly would be more used to attacking a free kick with his head than with his feet, but when Gueye’s shot headed him, he finished. with aplomb before Galíndez knew anything about it.
Ecuador pitched men with their World Cup dreams on the line, but to no avail as they failed to seriously manage Mendy while Senegal celebrated achieving the back 16 at their expense.
Chelsea’s Kalidou Koulibaly expressed the Blues club’s considerations and gave Graham Potter an idea of what he can achieve. A shot at the perfect moment on Enner Valencia before the break highlighted a colossal defensive performance, and what a moment to score his first foreign goal.
Ecuador is absent from the World Cup at the organizational level for the 3rd of the 4 tournaments it has reached.
Senegal will face the winners of Group B in the tie on Sunday, which starts at 7pm.
In the other Group A match, the Netherlands claimed victory over hosts Qatar with Cody Gakpo back in a 2-0 victory.
The Dutch will face the runners-up of Group B in the knockout stages.