Senegal Advance To Quarter Finals After Thrilling Win Over Ecuador

Senegal have booked their place in the World Cup last 16 with a thrilling 2-1 win over Ecuador on Tuesday, sending the South American side out of the tournament in their wake.

Captain Kalidou Koulibaly sealed the African champion’s progression to the knockout phase with a dramatic 70th-minute winner at the Khalifa International Stadium just moments after Moises Caicedo had drawn Ecuador level.

At 1-1, Ecuador would have advanced from Group A and Senegal would have been eliminated. However, the end-to-end drama came after Ismaila Sarr’s confident penalty had put Senegal ahead just before the halftime break, marking just reward for their domination of the opening period against an opponent happy to sit back and try to soak up the pressure.

The final result meant Senegal finished second in Group A. They have six points from their three matches, two ahead of Ecuador, whose tournament held much promise but ultimately ended in bitter disappointment.

Senegal last advanced from the group stage at the 2002 World Cup. This was when the team reached the quarterfinals in its tournament debut.

Their success this time around has come despite the absence of star forward Sadio Mane. Mane saw his World Cup dream crashing down on the eve of the competition as a knee injury ruled him out of a trip to Qatar.

Meanwhile, the Netherlands beat Qatar 2-0 on Tuesday to finish top. With this win, they capped a miserable end to the tournament for the hosts, who were rooted in last place.

This is having failed to win a single point from their three games.

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