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By:
George Ramsay and Alasdair Howorth, | |||||||||
| Posted:
Nov,29-2022 12:49:27
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Senegal and Netherlands both qualified for the World Cup knockout stages from Group A on Tuesday at Qatar 2022.
For the Netherlands, a comfortable 2-0 win against host nation Qatar ensured its progression to the last 16, while Senegal overcame Ecuador 2-1 with a hard-earned victory.
In a tense, must-win game for Senegal, the Lions of Teranga went ahead through Ismaïla Sarr’s penalty before Moisés Caicedo leveled for Ecuador in the second half.
Sarr calmly scores his penalty against Ecuador.
But the Africa Cup of Nations champion responded immediately as captain Kalidou Koulibaly struck home from a free-kick into the box.
Ecuador pushed for an equalizer, which would have seen El Tri qualify ahead of Senegal, but Koulibaly’s strike proved decisive, ensuring his side reaches the World Cup knockout stages for the first time since 2002.
“We knew that it was a tough game against a very good team,” Koulibaly told beIN Sports. “We wanted to make the story of our country and today we had a lot of determination to win this game and we won it – we can be happy.”
It hasn’t been an easy campaign for Senegal following injuries to Sadio Mane ahead of the tournament and Cheikhou Kouyaté during the first game.
After losing its opening game against the Netherlands, Aliou Cissé’s side responded with back-to-back wins against Qatar and Ecuador.
Senegal's players pay tribute to Papa Bouba Diop after defeating Ecuador.
There was added emotion for Senegal’s players with Tuesday marking two years since the death of Papa Bouba Diop, the versatile midfielder who made 63 appearances for the Senegalese national team.
“This game is for Sadio but also for Papa Bouba Diop … We wanted to make something special and today we can be happy,” Koulibaly added.
The result means the Netherlands and Senegal join Brazil, France and Portugal as the first five teams to qualify from the group stages.
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Source:
CNN
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