Valencia leads Ecuador to deserved share of spoils against Dutch
DOHA: Ecuador's "Superman" captain Enner Valencia led a feisty fightback on Friday (Nov 25) as the South Americans drew 1-1 with the Netherlands in Group A to keep both teams in the running for the last 16 while ending hosts Qatar's chances of qualifying.
Valencia, 33, tapped in his third goal of the tournament from a rebound in the second half after Cody Gakpo had put the Dutch ahead in the sixth minute with a sizzling shot in a result that advanced both sides to four points.
Qatar lost their second successive game at their debut World Cup earlier on Friday to Senegal and are eliminated. The African champions are third in the group with Ecuador to come in Tuesday's final group games.
Ecuador had a subdued first half as Louis van Gaal's side looked comfortable but unhurried. But the South Americans, roared on by a large yellow-clad contingent at the Khalifa International Stadium, stepped up a gear in the second half and could have won it when Gonzalo Plata's strike hit the crossbar.
Plato thrashed a powerful shot onto the woodwork in the 59th minute as the South Americans went from strength to strength, consistently hustling the Dutch off the ball by applying a physically-demanding press that did not allow their opponents to play their usual flowing game.
"They had a few biters, guys who are hot on your heels. Then you have to act quickly, and (we) could have dealt with that better. We should have done better in possession of the ball," said Dutch captain Virgil van Dijk.
It had started out most promising for the Dutch, looking for their second win of the tournament that would have ensured they were the first team to qualify for the knockout stages, when Gakpo scored.
A stray ball back to his defence by Moises Caicedo was